


Keeper of the Sphinx

by Shades_of_Hecate



Series: Fairytales & Hokum [1]
Category: The Mummy (1999)
Genre: Anywhere, Carnahan cousin, F/M, I say they're her siblings but they are cousins, I'm out of weird tags to add, Like slow, Slow Burn, So yikes, but you know, close ass cousins, for Ardeth and Nevi at least, how do people ramble in these?, it's a staple of Mummy fanfiction, like anywhere anywhere, mostly I'm just nervous cuz this is my first fic posted, plus double the sexy Medjai, sue me, there is past life chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:14:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 67,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21583624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shades_of_Hecate/pseuds/Shades_of_Hecate
Summary: Nevina (Nevi) Moore was perfectly happy with her life. Going on digs, working at the Cairo Museum, spending evenings with her siblings, Evie and Jonathan. A dig to the legendary city of Hamunaptra should have been another routine adventure... should have been. Now she's stuck with an ancient evil mummy who thinks she's the one who put him in the grave and wants to kill her sister, a Medjai who has dreamy eyes despite continually trying to kill her and her friends, and a past life that really could have stayed buried. Along with that fucking mummy. But, it is what it is, so now she gets to deal with all that.
Relationships: Ardeth Bay/Original Character(s), Ardeth Bay/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Fairytales & Hokum [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555537
Comments: 57
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that this is NOT super historically accurate to Egyptian history or probably Egyptian mythology or ancient culture. I did my best, but did not go overly into details. If you see something glaringly obviously wrong, ignore it and just go with the story or lemme know... kindly please :) speaking of kindly, this is my first ever story that I've let anyone read. Ever. But I want to get more comfortable having people read my work. So please review and give me your thoughts if you so desire.
> 
> Anything in bold is Arabic :)

Nevi scrunched up her face in frustration, her thick eyebrows drawing together as she let out a long line of internal cursing. This damn symbol! It was a half sun over a couple mountains, the lines that were the rays of the sun squiggled out instead of being straight like normal and had an eye overarching them. She just couldn’t find it… not in the _Bembridge Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian Symbols_ not in _The Carter Trusts Dialogue of Egyptian Writing…_ well, those were really her only options at the moment. She’d thought maybe it was a hieroglyph, an itch at the back of her brain had told her it was, but maybe she was wrong. She’d dreamt of it on a recent dig at Thebes. A glittering room of gold, a man resting it against her chest, and the swooping sensation of success. It had to be a hieroglyph. It _meant_ something. She knew it wasn’t just a nice picture.

“Seems neither organization is as well versed as they think,” Nevi muttered to herself begrudgingly. Evie was always biting at the nib to get in with the Bembridge scholars but the times that Nevi had met them at events they were just snooty assholes. But sweet cousin Evie was having none of that, they’d just rejected her proposal again and it crushed the poor bean. One more reason to hate the lot as far as Nevi was concerned.

As she turned back to the Glyph to try to decipher it there was a loud BANG! Nevi shot up straight, her knees hitting the underside of the table she sat at and a twinge going through her back, she hadn’t realized she’d been hunched over that bad nor that long. Twelve or so more BANGS! And then a thunderous crash. The artifacts around Nevi shook and clanked together, threatening to fall from their resting places. She grabbed the table trying to keep her papers and sketches in place. Then the shouting started.

Nevi untangled her legs, getting caught up in the long linen skirt she wore and started running up the steps from the basement work room she’d been in. As she got closer the shouting became clearer.

“…only person within a thousand miles, who knows how to properly code and catalog this library. That’s why.” _Well that’s Evie so this probably won’t be good._ Nevi got closer to the library door where the voices were coming from and peaked her head around the corner cautiously. _What the HELL!_ The library before her was destroyed with a capital D. The shelves that normally circled the center of the room were collapsed on top of each other domino style and in the center was the curator, Dr. Bey, yelling at Evie, who presumably, made this mess.

“I put up with you because your father and mother were our finest patrons. That’s why! Allah rest their souls.” _Nope. Not getting into this today._ Dr. Bey was always getting mad at Evie and threatening to fire her. She was, admittingly, extremely clumsy and single minded when she became fascinated about something. Nevi remembered only too well the month when they were only five after Evie discovered the story of Hamunaptra and the unrelenting barrage of information that came with it. Truly the information never stopped from Evie. It definitely was her life goal to find the city and prove its existence. But this? No, Nevi wasn’t going to try to defend Evie from Dr. Bey this time. She was not in the mood. That goddamn symbol anyway. She could actually feel her brain hurting.

Ducking back away from the library where Dr. Bey continued to berate Evie, Nevi rubbed her back and stretched as she walked. Did she really want to go back to the basement right now? Not really. The sun shone through the large window at the end of the hallway beckoning Nevi into the Egyptian heat. _Maybe some tea and a break… yeah that would hit the spot._ Turning away from the basement stairs she took the long way to the employee kitchen, to avoid Dr. Bey whom she was sure was storming around the halls in a rage over his library. And since his office was on the short way to the kitchen, best to not go that way.

*

The employee kitchen was a kitchen in the loosest terms. There was a small stove and sink area which, thank the Lord, actually had running water in it. Besides that, a couple cupboards for mugs and tea bags and a small table with a set of chairs. Nevi set the water to boil and opened the small window by the table. Kneeling on a chair with her stomach pressed to the back of it, she stuck her head out the window, taking in the city.

Cairo was amazing. The bustling streets, the blistering heat, the smells of curries, falafel, and almond honey tarts. Her favorite. She watched street vendors selling their wears and small children run around, some playing, some stealing. She sat there basking in the warmth and vibrant life of it all.

A high-pitched whistle was the only thing that made her pull her head inside. _Tea time. Plop goes the tea bag… and just a little bit of hon-_

“NEVI!” She jumped a mile as the shout of her name reverberated through the small room. Dropping the honey scepter into her teacup, she spun around. Evie was advancing on her fast, cheeks flushed and eyes wide. Johnathan not far behind her, jumping a little like a kid at Christmas.

“WHAT?! What? When the hell did you get here?” She asked, pointing at Johnathan.

“Never mind him!” Evie waved her hand dismissively. “Look what he brought.” She thrust a small box into Nevi’s hands. For the first time, Nevi took the time to look at what Evie was carrying. Besides the box now in her own hands, Evie had a large piece of old papyrus paper.

The box was metal, with intricately carved hieroglyphs on all the sides including the top and bottom. There were lines running into the middle of the top from the sides. Taking the box in both hands and giving it a slight twist, the box popped open in Nevi’s hands to reveal a star shaped layout and a deep center that could have stored many things.

“Where did you get this?” Nevi looked up suspiciously at Johnathan.

Johnathan opened and shut his month a couple times, looking very like a fish. “Wh- well, um you know.” He managed to stutter out before being cut off.

“A dig down in Thebes.” Evie answered for him. “Look what was in it.”

“Liar. I was just in-,” But Nevi was cut off as the paper Evie had been holding was thrust into her face as gently as Evie could in her excited state. Nevi looked it over. It looked like a treasure map. As she examined it Evie continued. “I thought maybe you could date it for us. It is your specialty, ancient Egyptian art and visuals.”

“Fascinating,” Nevi said getting distracted. The more she looked at the map, the more excited she got. “We’d have to run tests of course, but I’d say it’s over 3,000 years old. What’s that in the corner there?”

*

The three ran to the office like children coming downstairs on Christmas to find an exceptionally high stack of presents under the tree. “Dr. Bey!” Slamming open the door so hard it bounced off the wall and flew back at them, but the three were already too far into the room to get hit.

“Misses Carnahan and Moore! Mr. Carnahan, what is the meaning of this?!” Dr. Bey flipped the paper he was reading over and shuffled some pages over it. “Have you fixed my library so quickly young lady?” He turned to Evie.

“Um, well no sir, but look what Johnathan has brought.” She showed him the box and, what her and Nevi had guessed was, the treasure map. Spilling out everything they knew about it quickly in a long stream of information. Johnathan interrupting only to confirm just how rich Seti the First was.

When Evie got to an image on the map and boldly stated she thought it was Hamunaptra. Even Nevi had to stare at her in disbelief. _The_ Hamunaptra? Couldn’t be, and looking down at the curator she knew that they had lost Dr. Bey. His face fell in a decidedly fed up way.

“Dear God, don’t be ridiculous. We’re scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra’s a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists.” Dr. Bey said aghast.

“I know all the blather about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy…but my research has led me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed.” Evie said hurriedly, eager to get Dr. Bey to understand the historical excitement that Nevi was sure was coursing through her.

“Are we talking about THE Hamunaptra?” Nevi interrupted. _Hamunaptra?! No way, think of what knowledge that place holds._ “On that map?”

“Yes. The City of the Dead. Where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt.” Evie beamed at her. Moving around behind Dr. Bey to stand closer to Johnathan as Nevi leaned onto her palms on Dr. Bey’s desk.

“Yes, yes i-i-in a big underground treasure chamber.” Johnathan added, a little out of breath at the idea of so much gold.

Dr. Bey scoffed.

“Oh, come on everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand on the Pharaoh’s command. The place would disappear beneath the sand dunes.” Nevi let out indignantly. When Evie had discovered the story, the legends had fascinated Nevi too. More so the history of the ceremonies that were supposed to be held there than the singular book that Evie was so encompassed with.

“As the Americans would say, it’s all fairy tales and hokum.” Dr. Bey stated but Nevi, Johnathan, and Evie were too busy exchanging plans on what needed to be done before they could plan a proper expedition. Suddenly smoke obscured Nevi’s view of the siblings. As Dr. Bey exclaimed, “Oh my goodness! Look at that!”

Looking down, the bottom corner of the map was on fire and, as Dr. Bey sent it flying in her direction over the front of the desk, Nevi dropped to her knees to pat out the fire. Quickly joined by Johnathan. As the fire disappeared Evie also dropped to her knees, gently caressing the burnt edge of the paper.

“You’ve burnt it!” Nevi felt on the verge of tears. This page was so ancient. The millennia it lasted, only to be burned in a museum’s office.

Johnathan had another worry though, “You’ve burned off the part with the lost city.”

“It’s for the best I’m sure.” Dr. Bey leaned down to stare at them. Seeming none too perturbed at a 3,000-year-old paper catching fire. Usually he was an extremely careful and detail-oriented curator. This wasn’t normal. “Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one’s ever found it. Most have never returned.” He ended ominously.

“Well doesn’t that mean there must be something out there?” Nevi shot back, far more rudely than she normally would. Dr. Bey and her got on famously most of the time but the burnt paper. The burnt paper! She could not believe he’d been so clumsy as to hold it too close to the lamp’s fire. Could not believe it at all.

“Well, it’ll be fine.” Evie said, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself of that than the others. “We- we just need to study where you found it Johnathan.” She looked up suddenly. Johnathan’s face sunk, looking far too guilty to have found this box in an innocent manner.

“Did you actually get this on a dig in Thebes Johnathan?” Nevi questioned. Narrowing her eyes. Knowing the answer before they’d even stepped foot in this room.

“Well, well not totally. I’m sure, my good gals, that you can understand an explorer keeping to himself some of his secrets in the art of-”

“He stole it.” Nevi said flatly to Evie.

“Did not!”

“Did too.” Nevi wagged her finger at him feeling all too much like his mother, again. “Admit it.”

“No, I shan’t.”

“Because you didn’t steal it?” Evie said hopefully.

Johnathan was quiet for a moment. “Don’t want to say, you’ll just get mad.”

Evie sighed heavily, while Nevi smirked a little and murmured, “Stole it.”

“Never mind it now.” Evie said when Johnathan opened his mouth again to retort. A finality in her tone that came with practice from growing up with the two. “Nevi find us transport upriver please. Anything that leaves soonest. Now you,” she pointed at Johnathan and he paled. “We are going to get more information about this.” She shook the puzzle box. “I don’t give a rat’s you-know-what where you found it.”

Looking resigned to his fate, and more than likely a good telling off when Evie found out how exactly he got the puzzle box, Johnathan got up with his head bent as Evie followed. Nevi got up as gracefully as she could, untangling herself once again from the long skirt. How she wished she could wear the flowy linen pants she wore out on digs around Cairo, but it was considered inappropriate dress for a lady. _Though now that another dig was in the works, she’d be able to bust them out again_ , she thought with a smile on her lips as she reached for the doorknob.

“Nevina.” The softness of Dr. Bey’s voice stopped her. Turning slowly, she immediately took in the worry along his brow. His eyes full of warning. “Nevina please. Talk those two out of this.”

“What?” Nevi was taken back; couldn’t he understand what a great opportunity this was? “Dr. Bey-”

“Terrence dear girl, how many times must we go over it.”

“Terrence then,” Nevi relented as she walked back over to stand in front of his desk. He was standing now. He was short for a man but then Nevi was tall for a woman, so they looked each other almost in the eyes, she happened to be a little taller than him at the moment due to her boot’s heels. “Can’t you understand what this means to Evie? She’s spent years searching for proof of Hamunaptra. Plus, the chance to stamp your name on a find as significant as this one-,” Nevi searched, her hands opening and closing, trying to will the words out. “It’s once in a lifetime. Like when they found the Boy King.”

“My dear,” Terrence looked himself like he was trying to find the words. Which made Nevi scrunch her face up in confusion. He was never one to search for words unless he didn’t want to say the truth. He took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s dangerous.”

“I’ve been on plenty of digs.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze back.

“Yes, I know but this will be different. The dangers on this one far outshine any you’ve seen before.”

Nevi scanned his face, a bubbling, molten weight creeping ever higher in her chest. “What do you know that you aren’t telling me?” Nevi drew her hand away. What could he mean dangers she hadn’t seen? She’d seen the dangers, the accidents when digging improperly. The lack of water, the disease. He knew of her parents.

Terrence gave out a sigh and hung his head, splaying out his finger tips on his desk to support his weight. It was minutes before he looked back up. “Those Carnahan siblings are going to get you into trouble.”

Nevi tried for a joking smile. _Maybe that’s all it is, he doesn’t trust Evie to not mess it all up like she tends to. He doesn’t trust Johnathan not to be… well Johnathan. He knows we’re close and doesn’t want to insult me by speaking ill of friends, of family._ “Those two have been getting me into trouble since we were born.” Nevi reached out and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Trust me, anything those two can throw at me I can handle. Now I really do have to go and find us a boat.” She turned back to the door saying as she walked, “Do you know if those travel broachers for the tourists would have anything worth looking at?”

“Nevina.” The softness gone in his voice, instead an urgency now that Nevi couldn’t pin down. She turned back to look at him half out the door. For a second, he looked as though he was going to yell, but instead sighed again and sat down, looking more than a little defeated. “Just keep an eye out. The sands hold more curses and danger than any man, or woman-,” he added as she opened her mouth to say something sarcastic at that. “-can handle.”

“Curses,” she mockingly scoffed and smirked at him. “Now Dr. Bey I thought we were scholars not treasure hunters.” With that she left the room.

*

“You should have seen him! Disgusting, vile, criminal of a man! That’s who our dear brother stole from.” Evie fumed. She had been since they’d gotten back half an hour ago. They were now back at Nevi’s small apartment a few blocks from the British Fort. She was sitting at the dining room table, Johnathan was making a drink, and Evie was slowly wearing a dent into the living room floor. Apparently, the man that Johnathan had stolen from was some drunk in a bar, who had ended up in prison on death row. Evie had to pay and promise the warden 25% of their total find for his release and to provide a guide for the trip.

“It’s times like this that I like to point out that, technically, he’s not my brother. He’s yours.” That earned Nevi a scowl from Evie as she continued her tirade and Johnathan pulled out a chair next to Nevi. She glanced over at him.

Lifting the glass, more ice than whiskey, up to his jaw where a nice bruise was forming, he gave Nevi a small grin, “Love you too old mum.”

Nevi made a kissy noise in his direction and smiled at him. Like he could have any doubt that she considered him and Evie siblings. They’d practically been raised as such even before her parent’s deaths. “How’s the jaw?”

“Oh, that American, hell of a right hook he’s got.” Johnathan mumbled.

“And that!” Evie threw up an arm and upped her speed of pacing. “The lack of manners, punching Johnathan, kissing me! I mean who does he think-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Nevi sat up straighter, interested now. _Oh, this was amazing, simply splendid_. She gave Evie a cheeky grin. “He kissed you?”

Evie stopped suddenly, turning to Nevi with wide eyes like a deer caught in a spotlight. _Obviously, she hadn’t meant to say THAT._ Nevi chuckled inside. “What? Um, oh er- no, no he didn’t kiss me.”

“Oh bollocks,” Johnathan interrupted her, also smiling, highly amused at his sister’s awkwardness. “Full on the mouth, that cheeky bastard. Not that I can blame the man though, about to be hanged and all.” He took a long sip from his whiskey, wincing slightly as the burn hit his throat.

“It’s not funny you two!” Evie crossed her arms, pouting. “Now when does our boat leave? You found one, right?”

“Smooth change of subject.” Nevi said still smirking at her. Evie turned red and Nevi decided to have some pity on her. “But yes, yes I did find one. A steamboat going up river tomorrow, leaving at 3pm. I suggest you send word to that American bloke at the hotel you dropped him off at. You know the one who kissed you?” Nevi couldn’t resist one last poke at Evie. The poor girl got so bent out of shape about men, always had. Since their school days she’d always been a bit prudish, even for the other upper-class Brits at their boarding schools.

Evie blushed harder and turned on her heel, marching out the door to send him a telegram.

*

The heat was intense. It beat down on Nevi’s head like a drum as she wound her way through the busy Cairo docks. Her wide sun hat giving little to no relief since it was the time of day where the sun was at its peak. The area of the docks was always busy. Merchants trading wears, shipments coming in, tourists or expats jumping off the boats for the first time onto Egyptian soil. She loved everything about it, except the way that the boats were laid out for the outgoing trips. _What idiot thought of this system?_ Her long brunette hair was pulled into a side braid today that reached down to the small of her back, it was pulled over her shoulder and made a rhythmic thumping as she maneuvered around people with her suitcase in one hand and the boat information in the other. Usually she wore it up in a bun, like Evie had hers in today, but part of the fun of going on digs was being able to shed just a little of the uptight, proper details that led most of western life, even in a country far from England. As such, she had on her wide legged, flowy linen pants. Honestly you couldn’t tell it wasn’t a skirt when she wasn’t moving but when movement was required it made it far easier to be able to walk without petticoats and slips. The dark khaki of the pants paired nicely with the light sage of her blouse. She always wore something green. It made her dark green eyes stand out and, in a country where green eyes were considered exotic, Nevi played them up as much as she could.

Behind her Evie and Johnathan followed. Evie carrying both suitcases and regaling them with all the facts that she’d ever learned about Hamunaptra… again. The shock of meeting their new American criminal, which is which is what Nevi had taken to calling the man whose name turned out to be Richard O’Connell, much to the chagrin of Evie who said it wasn’t a polite thing to call anyone even a “no good scoundrel like him”, seemed to have worn off and Evie would just not-shut-up.

“Ah this is the one!” Nevi called behind her FINALLY finding the boat that was going to take them up river. As she turned to look at the other two, she caught sight of three men. All dressed in black robes with covers over the lower half of their faces. They were standing far enough away from the group that Nevi couldn’t see their faces but a strange stillness took over her. The other patrons of the dock were still moving at a rapid speed but all the noise had cut out of Nevi’s hearing. As she stared at the man standing in the middle, she could swear he was staring right back at her. _I know him from somewhere…no. No, I don’t_. Why would she know him? She was being silly. But- why was he and his small group staring daggers right at them?

Nevi didn’t hear a thing that Evie was saying until the other girl grabbed her arm. “Nevi…what are you staring at? Did you hear anything I just said?”

“What?” Nevi’s head snapped back to Johnathan and Evie, both were looking mildly worried.

“Too much of the afternoon sun love?” Johnathan asked slowly. Taking her elbow to guide her. “Perhaps we should get you on board and find you some water.”

“No. No, I’m fine. Just those men over there-,” As she turned to point out the three men in dark robes, they were gone. And the rest of ‘they were staring right at us’ died in her throat.

“What men?” Evie asked.

“Um, nothing. Thought I saw someone over there I knew.” Nevi tried to shake it off. _They couldn’t have been staring at us. Absolutely no reason for it!_ “What were you saying Evie?”

“Just wondering if that man is really going to show up.”

“Yes undoubtedly, knowing my luck. He may be a cowboy, but I know the breed. His word is his word.” Johnathan reassured her though he didn’t look too happy about meeting the man again. Subconsciously rubbing his chin where the man had punched him the day before.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t pick pockets then.” Nevi teased.

Johnathan stuck his tongue out at her as Evie started. ‘Well, personally I think he’s filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel.” _Oh yes please, continue. We haven’t heard this at all before_ , Nevi thought with a role of her eyes. “I don’t like him one bit.”

“Anyone I know?” A voice came out of nowhere to the side of them and before Nevi knew it a tall, handsome man was standing facing her between Johnathan and Evie. His dark brown hair hung playfully in his blue eyes in a way she was sure he had cut to intentionally do so, begging a girl who was won with that charming smile to sweep it out of his eyes coyly, before planting a nice languid kiss on those soft looking lips. This must be their American criminal. _Truly a horrid man, yes._

“Um, oh hello.” Nevi turned to glance at Evie, her mouth hung open in shock. _Obviously, this was the infamous Richard O’Connell and obviously he hadn’t looked like this when he’d kissed Evie yesterday._ Nevi had the feeling if he had Evie wouldn’t have been quite so upset about that kiss.

“Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O’Connell?” Johnathan said patting O’Connell on the chest, seemingly unaware that his sister was shell shocked by the handsome man. Otherwise Nevi knew he’d tear the mickey out of her for it.

“Yeah. Yeah, smashing.” _Ooo, and his voice is deep and smooth too. Evie you lucky gal._ He reached into the pocket inside his blazer and checked to make sure that his wallet was still there.

“Oh, no, no, I’d never steal from a partner… partner.” Johnathan patted O’Connell’s shoulder again but only got a disbelieving ‘hmmm’ in response. He grabbed Nevi by the elbow again and drew her in front of him, _likely to deflect attention off himself,_ Nevi smiled up at O’Connell anyway. “This is my other sister, Nevi. She’s joining us on this little jaunt into the desert.” He pushed Nevi forward a bit more.

“Hello, lovely to meet you. I’ve heard so much.” Nevi held out her hand for him to shake, laughing a little at just how much she’d heard about the man in less than 24 hours.

“Nice to meet you.” He gave her hand a strong, single shake. “All great things I’m guessing.” He said in a tone that let Nevi know he knew what kinds of things had been said about him.

“Oh, don’t worry,” She waved a dismissive hand at him. “Johnathan always has something to apologize for, Mr. O’Connell.” He laughed a small, but genuine laugh. Revealing quite a nice smile, Nevi glanced in Evie’s direction to see if she noticed. Judging by the quality shade of red her face has turned, she had.

“Call me Rick. That reminds me,” he turned his attention back to Johnathan. “No hard feelings about the-.” Rick mimed a right-hand punch to Johnathan’s jaw.

“Oh, no, no,” Johnathan said rubbing the area on his face that was sporting a nice bruise. “Happens all the time.” _Well I’ll believe that._

“Mr. O’Connell,” It seemed Evie had found her voice again. “Can you look me in the eye and guarantee me this isn’t all some kind of-of flimflam? Because if it is, I am warning you-.” She narrowed her eyes trying to look threatening, but Evie was such a sweetheart it was hard to take her seriously. Apparently, Rick thought along similar lines.

“You’re warning me? Lady, let me put it this way: My whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there all we found was sand and blood.” His last statement rang out ominously for Nevi, who couldn’t help but remember Dr. Bey’s words about curses and dangers. She knew Evie didn’t believe in such things but Nevi thought that words had a lot of power. Whether magic was strictly real or not, curses could still affect you. Rick broke the silence, “Let me get your bags.”

With that he strode onto the boat.

\--

Ardeth watched the group. He was sure that they were siblings, they looked so similar. Dr. Bey had warned them that a few of his employees had planned a trip to the Cursed City after their brother found the key and map. Whoever had left the key and map at the city to be found in the first place was truly a damned idiot. 

The taller woman had caught his eye though. 

She’s the one who noticed them watching her group. She’s the one who looked him dead in the eyes, though he was sure that she didn’t realize it, as their faces were obscured and too far away. Her long braid kept catching the sun beneath her large hat, flashing red tones. She was pretty. 

When her sister caught her attention, they moved. Just to the side to still observe the group. A man joined them, causing the shorter woman to blush furiously. Maciej, his second in command, laughed a little to his left. 

“ **She likes him**.” Fahim chuckled to his right. Ardeth supposed that awkward feelings of attraction were funny no matter who it was, they were likely going to have to kill the pretty one and her siblings, but he still found himself laughing at the blush and flustered nature of the shorter woman. Her sister noticed apparently, Ardeth saw her give the shorter woman a sly smile and bump their shoulders together. The shorter one went up the ramp first followed by the man and the pretty one.

“ **What now Ardeth?** ” Maciej asked.

Ardeth knew what they must do. “ **Now we follow, we must get that key.** ” 

“ **I will call out for boats; we should show up at night**.” Fahim waited for Ardeth to nod before leaving.


	2. Chapter 1.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the past life peoples. My hope is that the Mummy era chapters will match up a bit with the past life chapters... hopefully.

Nenet opened her eyes wearily to the already harsh sun. How long had she slept in?

With more consciousness came an increasing pain, stabbing at her neck. She’s fallen asleep at the alter pool- again. Lately it seemed the perfumed incenses and smokes that she burned to aid in seeing the images within the water, were just putting her straight to sleep.

_How am I ever going to see anything that way?_ And Pharaoh Seti would be wanting answers soon. As the connector to love and fertility, the heart, and the mind, unlike Imhotep who charged the spirit and the body, men’s business, she’d been assigned a task. Pharaoh had asked her to look into the voids, into the future and the past, into the fabric that spun cosmic knowledge, to tell him what was to be done about a proposed political marriage. A powerful nobleman and merchant had a lovely daughter, Anck-su-namun, the Pharaoh wanted to know if a match would be smart for his kingdom. He already had a daughter, an heir, so there was no need to worry about a lack of royal blood coming into the line. This was more about relationship building between powerful men. It was about protection for the Pharaoh, companionship, economic growth. From everything that Nenet could see in the waters, in the stars, and with the dung beetles help, it would be a fine match. Good for the kingdom. Good for the Pharaoh. At this moment, while she is this woman and he is this man. The future though is turbulent and had been the hardest factor to see into. Hence falling asleep on stone floors instead of in her comfortable bed.

She tired to massage some of the stiffness out of her neck and joints as she got up and walked to the small basin of water to wash her face. It was full. Nenet sighed in frustration and irritation. _Sometimes it did not serve to be thought of as a part divine being with connections to the Gods._ A servant had come in, filled it, saw her asleep on the floor, and being too scared to look her in the eyes… left her there. Thinking it was on purpose no doubt.

Hunger started to set in, she needed to get to the kitchens and request some food, she dressed quickly. Splashing on perfumes, smacking on powders, lining her eyes with kohl, slipping into the air-light, soft gold robes of her priestesshood. The two-part attire was quite nice, much better than the scratchy rough woven dresses of her childhood, before she’d been found divine, and had lived along the Nile with her family. Many years ago. It was a strappy top that clung to her body, exposing her midriff, until the skirt took over, around her naval, to cover the lower half of her body. It was layers of light linen and gauze to create a billowing that made it appear as if she floated along the ground where ever she went. Lastly came all the bangles, arm bands, rings, body jewelry, head pieces, and such that befitted her position.

She ate quickly and quietly in the small dining hall off the kitchen, usually reserved for lower nobles who couldn’t eat at the kings table and hustled off to the temple. As she stepped out of the cool stone building of the palace to walk across the small courtyard that connected the palace to the temple the mid-morning sun hit her face like a welcome drink of water for someone too long parched in the desert. Palace living was nice, comfortable, proper. But there was something Nenet deeply missed about running through the sunshine. It wasn’t proper for ladies of the court to do such things, stay in the sun too long, their light copper skin would turn too dark, too common, if out in the sun too long. But for the few minutes she was allowed to walk outside she drank them up, going slow, glinting the whole way like the diamond of Ahm-Sher in all her gold and jewels. _Who do I beckon to a cruel end?_ Herself, her priestesses, the Pharaoh? There had been an unrest all morning in her bones, one that didn’t come from sleeping on the ground, one she couldn’t shake. Today was a turning point, but for what?

At midafternoon the Pharaoh called upon her.

She stepped into his throne room and stopped in her tracks. Imhotep kneeled there, his back to her, waiting to hear from Pharaoh as well.

There was something about her counterpart, that tickled a part of her spine. She didn’t trust it, oh he was nice enough, clever and a good priest, but he was a stickler for the rules and there was a quality he possessed, she couldn’t put her finger on. An ambition, a want, a warning about him that poked that part of her spine that burned when she read the waters of the future. She reached Pharaoh’s feet and kneeled as Imhotep was. Her skirts splaying around her like the sun’s rays.

“My priests,” Pharaoh opened his arms as if to hug. “My advisors. My friends. Please stand. We have important business to speak about.”

The two rose and Nenet looked up into the face of the man who had saved her from a life of poverty. His ship had sailed by one morning when she was a little girl and Pharaoh Seti had seen her conjuring shapes from the waters of the Nile. He had insisted that moment that she come to the palace with him. Of course, she hadn’t seen her parents since, but it was a great honor to be chosen by the Pharaoh himself to join the divine priesthood. And his daughter Nefertiti had been her age, they had entertained each other, they had befriended each other, they had comforted each other. In the early days of her arrival, Nefertiti would sneak into her room when the loneliness and homesickness rocked Nenet’s body to a point she thought she would shatter from, and when the Queen, Nefertiti’s mother, had passed on to the Land of Two Fields Nenet had done the same. Now she looked up into the Pharaoh’s face and saw a man who was smiling like he had a great secret that he was itching to tell them.

“News arrived last night that Menefer, the Keeper of the Library of the Sphinx has passed on to see Osiris open his gates.” Nenet felt a pang. Menefer had been a kind man, a good priest. “This means that a new keeper needs appointing.” Pharaoh looked between them slyly. “Can you guess who I’ve chosen for such a great honor?”

Nenet saw Imhotep stretch himself up to full height, a smug smile creeping onto her face. She forced herself to keep an expression of excited interest on her face. “Who, my Pharaoh?”

His eyes met hers and his smile grew. “You. My priestess.”

Her smile faltered and her face fell into disbelief. Beside her Imhotep’s did the same but held an air of insult at the same time. “Me?” She gapped at her Pharaoh.

“Her?” Imhotep asked.

“Indeed. You have kept secrets and council with my beloved daughter Nefertiti for years. Done so loyally. She speaks highly of you. I’m sure you are the most trusted person to keep the secrets of our kingdom safe with the same fierce loyalty Nefertiti has enjoyed these many years.” He held out to her the amulet of the position. She stepped forward so that he could slip it around her neck. Nenet looked down to see a golden circle. Embossed with the hieroglyph of a sun shining over mountains. Its wavy rays reaching up to an all-seeing eye above the mountains highest peak. “I am sure, you would agree Imhotep.”

The High Priest bent his head in a quick bow but said nothing.

Nenet tried to find the words. “Of- of course my Pharaoh.” She bowed her head to him. She was the Keeper of the Library of the Sphinx. THE Sphinx.

“You are the Keeper of our most sacred knowledge, Nenet. As such, you will need proper protection.” He snapped his fingers and Nenet looked up into the face of a Medjai who was standing next to Pharaoh, she had seen him before, just glimpses around the palace, but his face was familiar. He was a handsome Medjai. Very handsome. His black eyes glinted under long eyelashes. The structure of his high cheekbones and strong jaw only accentuated by the sacred tattoos of Medjai. And his body. Tattoos of protection and bravery scattered their way down a chiseled chest and across large biceps covered in glowing dark brown skin. Somehow with all this bulk his form still gave off an air of elegance. Like his brute strength didn’t impede his ability to fight with grace and flow. “This is Ammon.” Nenet’s eyes flicked back to Pharaoh. A blush creeping onto her cheeks. _Was I staring?_ “For too long have I let your wild spirit roam free without proper protection.” Pharaoh playfully scolded her. “Now you are far too important, my dear. Ammon is one of my best Medjai. He will be with you, protect you, you can trust him. His loyalty and honesty are only surpassed by your own.”

Nenet looked between Pharaoh and Ammon, before meeting Ammon’s eyes. He gave her a faint, but kind smile, and inclined his head in a bow. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. He was very handsome but she hated the idea of being followed all day, of being watched, monitored. She had business of her own that she’d rather no one know of- yet… Pharaoh commanded it. How could she refuse. “You are too kind Pharaoh.” Nenet bowed her head again.


	3. Chapter 2

The boat was nice, particularly for what Nevi was expecting from a last-minute booking. Nevi’s room ended up being next to Evie’s, which she was happy to see, as some of the waitstaff on-board were young pretty women and if she got stuck next to Johnathan, like Rick did, she’d be forced to lay awake at night listening to her brother get busy. His type of girl always talked far too much to be able to sleep next to. She speaks from experience.

Her room was smaller, offering the larger one to Evie as she had more books. All Nevi really had was a small suitcase full of clothes and a leather satchel that contained her drawing supplies, so she could record the layout of the site and other artifacts or symbols they found. While Nevi would have loved to bring a camera to record what they found only the well-funded digs usually got to have a camera with them. She opened her suitcase and laid out tomorrow’s clothes so they would unwrinkled a little over night, honestly it was just the same outfit in different colors. White linen pants and a darker forest green blouse. She also took out her black silk nightgown. She had a bad habit of falling asleep in her clothes or shedding them entirely and sleeping, very un-ladylike, in the nude if she didn’t have her night clothes pre laid out. The amount of times she got yelled at during her years at boarding school, yeesh, you’d think it was the end of the world should someone’s breasts be out as they enjoyed a peaceful, good temperatured night’s sleep. She hung her sun hat on the door before slinging her drawing satchel over her shoulder and heading out to meet up with Evie. Under all her clothes she felt the pistol she always carried with her on digs, pressed against the small of her back, shifting ever so slightly as she walked. Get your camp attacked a couple times and you learned quickly to be prepared.

Outside it had already gotten dark by the time she emerged from her room. She almost ran into Rick as he was walking towards the deck, where seating and a small bar was set up.

“Oh, hello Rick.”

He smiled at that, “Hello Miss Moore.”

“Oh no please, if I call you Rick you call me Nevi.” She smiled up at him. Compared to the barbarian that Evie had described the real Rick was lovely as far as Nevi was concerned.

He chuckled, “Fair enough.” They started down the hallway together. “So how are you related to Evie and Johnathan? I don’t mean to pry but you were referred to as their ‘sort of sister’ when I met them. Honestly you don’t look very similar.” He added apologetically, as if she was going to get mad at him. _Of course, he’s used to dealing with Evie and that girl is wound up tight as a spring._ She knew what he meant though. They had characteristics in common, after all their mothers were sisters but when it came down to it, they looked very different. Where Evie was slim and petite, long dark locks tumbling down in wavy curls, Nevi was taller and not so petite (much to her chagrin when they were at school), with long hair yes but hers fell in straight sheets of a dark, auburn brown. They had the same lips though, the same gentle way their light skin would tan to a lovely mild copper in the sun, and the same thick eyebrows. Though you couldn’t tell that since Evie plucked hers to within an inch of their life after learning it was the popular beauty trend of the time back in England. Nevi couldn’t be bothered. Too much effort and too much time investment.

“You’re not prying.” She smiled up at him again. “Technically I’m their cousin. Our mothers were sister and fathers were business partners. They were obviously very close so when my parents passed away, I went to live with them. We were practically three peas in a pod before then anyway.” Nevi explained.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear about your parents.” He said but even to Nevi’s ears it sounded more like the formality of apologizing for bad news then him actually being torn up about it.

“No need to apologize it happened a long time ago.”

They walked out onto the open deck. The group of Americans they were sharing the boat with sat at a table with Johnathan, presumably playing poker. Rick and Nevi walked up to the table and Nevi ruffled Johnathan’s hair a little, “How’s the game big brother?”

“Oh well you know. Win some, loose some.” Came his response, but the stress in his voice was evident and Nevi had the feeling it was more like loose some, loose more.

“Tough break love.” She murmured.

“Shoot darlin’ if you want to come be my good luck charm and keep this one from taking all my money feel free to.” The blond American smiled suggestively at her and pointed to the shortest of the three men, a brunette man with a receding hairline. He smiled back at the blond one as he stacked his won bills in a neat stack. Nevi began to smile at the flirty behavior before she felt a warm, weight on her mid back that sank a little lower towards her butt.

“Now what do I feel tucked back here darlin’?” The blond American’s hand had just passed over the gun placed in her waist line.

She smacked his hand away going to stand on the other side of Johnathan, as the blond one chuckled to himself and his friends just rolled their eyes.

“Hey now gents let’s not treat the lady with such, um-uh,” But Johnathan was cut off by the look that the blond one gave him. Johnathan with all his intent on chivalry was not a fighter and Nevi couldn’t ask much more of him than what he’d just tried to give. To her delight though it was that moment that Rick chose to step forward.

“Boys I believe what’s trying to be said here, is keep your hands to your damn selves and we won’t have a problem.” Rick smiled down at them, his size definitely imposing.

“Oh, hey now we’re just joking around. Why don’t you sit down O’Connell we could use another player.” The blond held up his hands innocently. Nevi rolled her eyes and started down the side deck to find Evie.

She was sitting at a table reading and looked up only half way to smile at Nevi as she sat down. Pulling out her sketch pad and a charcoal pencil and began sketching a portrait of Evie. Another portrait, of the countless she’d done since she began learning to draw.

The night was peaceful. The chilled desert night air such a contrast to the bombarding heat of the day. The two women sat there, silently enjoying each other’s company. Honestly it was what Nevi loved most about Evie. She didn’t have to be alone but the two could do their own activities. Nevi pulled the cardigan she wore tighter around her shoulders and went to shade Evie’s hair in her drawing.

A loud THUD! Had Nevi jump right out of her skin. She saw in her peripheral vison that Evie did the same. She looked up to see Rick with a quite silly apologetic face. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya.”

“The only thing that scares me, Mr. O’Connell are your manners.” Evie recovered from her fright quickly. _This seems like something that I don’t need to be here for._

“Still angry about that kiss huh?” _Very flirty Mr. Rick. Definitely something I don’t need to sit through._

“As fun as this is, you two will have to continue to flirt without me. Think I’m going to retire for the night.” Nevi stood, dumping her drawing supplies back into her bag. Rick giving her a quick, ‘sleep well Nevi’ and Evie shooting her a scared and irritated look. Seems she didn’t like the idea of being left alone with Rick.

Nevi walked down past the horse and camel corral, to the other side of the boat where her room was. Suddenly her foot was no longer under her body and she was quickly headed for a hard landing on her back. For the second time that night her heart leapt to her throat and she had to clutch the railing surrounding the animal enclosure to stop herself from going ass-over-teakettle as the Americans would say. Straightening herself Nevi saw she was standing in a giant pool of water. _How the hell did that get there_? She stared into the darkness behind the animals. There was nothing… the camels and horses just grazed on feed in their bins or straw on the floor. Looking just to the left towards the railing at the edge of the boat, she saw another pool of water. Walking up to the edge she looked over into the dark water below. The half-moon and a bundle of stars stared back at her reflected in the calm surface.

_If the water’s that calm how could it get on deck like that?_

\--

Ardeth stared at her through the darkness that encompasses his and Fahim’s hiding spot amongst the animals these westerners brought with them. The pretty one had almost slipped on some water one of his Medjai had trailed on board. They were all on board by now and hiding until more people went to sleep. With any luck they would be in and out. Getting the map and key with little to no notice of them on board.

Now she was staring over the side of the boat. Her hair no longer reflecting reds but rather purples under the silver moonlight. With nothing else to do he studied her behavior. She was slender but had wider set hips then he’d first thought. He assumed it’d been the linen pants that flared out from her trim waist but as she bent slightly over the side Ardeth could tell it was just her. A plump and firm looking backside making that fact obvious.

She whipped around at the sound of hurried footsteps coming their way. Ardeth saw the shorter woman step into view. The pretty one looked startled. “Evie what’s the matter? What happened?” She stepped towards the shorter woman.

“Men are insufferable! The lot of them. Seemed like a good idea at the time, I’ll show him what’s a good idea. The- the… the ass!” And with that the shorter one, Evie, stormed off down the hall. Almost bowling over a tall, scrawny man in a fez.

“Alright then. Good talk.” The pretty one mumbled. Ardeth chuckled inside, only letting a small smile slip across his face. The man in the fez stormed up to the pretty one.

“You would do well to keep yourselves in check, it is inappropriate for proper ladies to be storming about and yelling. Swearing.”

The pretty one twitched her eyebrow at him and clasped her hands in front of herself, “I’m not sure it’s any of your business telling us what’s proper.” Tilting her head to the side, she said. “Aren’t you Alan Chamberlin?”

“Professor Chamberlin, thank you.” He used a haughty tone.

The pretty one ‘hmmed’ in response and Ardeth snuck a little closer to hear, still staying to the shadows. “Then you certainly have no business telling me what is and isn’t proper. Last I heard you weren’t much of a professor anymore. Didn’t you get fired from the Smithsonian in New York for incorrectly cataloguing five exhibits on late dynasty Egyptian and Arabian art?”

“Well… now, I mean- I never,” the fezed man stumbled his words.

“I’m sure. Goodnight professor,” she said with a heavy sarcastic emphasis on the last word. “It’s getting late and we have an important day of planning tomorrow.”

The pretty one stocked off, leaving the fezed man gapping like a fish out of water. Ardeth slunk back into the shadows and sensed more than saw Fahim slide closer to his right side. Ardeth held his hand up to indicate that they would wait. There were still far too many people milling around the boat to make a silent attack.

\--

Nevi huffed as she sat down to undo her long braid. She was still fuming a little at that disgraced ass of a professor having the nerve to call Evie anything but proper. Honestly, she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she kept riling herself back up from it. Not that she was going to sleep soon anyway. She never could. Sleep always escaped her. She’d managed to get her blouse and trousers off but had stopped there. Currently she was sitting on the little puffed seat of the armoire in her room in her brassier and bloomer shorts, already having shed her nylons and garter elastics. Due to the heat Nevi often opted out of any kind of corset or garter belt. The thick fabrics and make of them only ended up making her sweat in uncomfortable places. They weren’t too bad in England but here? Not for this climate at all.

Plus, she liked how the newer underwear styles looked. The corsets and full petticoats that she wore in her teenaged years had been fine but these were much nicer. They just made her feel… sexier. Nevi’s sexuality had never been something she’d shied away from. She wasn’t easy to get in bed, no one talked rumors around her about improper relations but she’d been with a couple men in her years at Cambridge. As long as they were someone that she cared for, whether full blown love or just deep affection, she saw nothing wrong with acting out those feelings of love in a physical manner.

Nevi went to unwind the cord she kept her braid secured with but her thoughts drifted towards men. It’d been ages since she’d spent the night with a man. That did not look like it was going to let up anytime soon though, what were her choices at work? None. Her choices here? Slim to worse. That blond American, Henderson she’d learned his name to be, was horrid and handsy. Rick fancied Evie hard even if neither wanted to admit it. That American Burns though, with the glasses, she mused. He was pretty cute, in a nerdy kind of way.

She dropped her braid and leaned back on one hand, letting her other wander down to the front of her brassier. The dark green, silk and lace piece was the favorite one she owned. It matched her bloomers and honestly when your undergarments matched, it brought a whole new level of put-together into the picture. Nevi pulled at the long gold chain that always hung around her neck out from where it was tucked away. On it hung her parents wedding rings. Nevi wanted what she remembered them having; a loving friendship with added benefits is what her father used to call it. At the time she was too young to realize what exactly added benefits meant and why her mother would giggle embarrassed and smack her father’s arm playfully when he said it. She pulled the necklace off and gently let it wind itself into a little bronze box on the armoire.

Nevi didn’t know Burns well enough to truly entertain the idea of relations with him. But some man. Someday maybe. Tall and handsome, brunette was even better. While at boarding school one of the girls in the dorm with her and Evie snuck in a naughty novel about a posh British girl going to the Middle East on business with her father and getting involved with a burley Arab trader. Had they gotten caught with that novel it would have been all their hides and then some but it didn’t stop any of the girls from having it make the rounds around campus a couple times. Even Evie read it once, though she was red for a month after. After that the man in the novel was always the template for the men Nevi imagined swooning in the arms of.

Nevi’s free hand ran up and down the space between her breasts and the deep V-neck of the brassier. It ended a little way past her breasts leaving a band of her stomach visible between it and the beginning of her bloomers at the small of her waist. Her skin at her waist and chest wasn’t sun tanned like her arms or face had gotten from the inevitable contact with the sun’s rays, so the oval shaped birthmark on her chest stuck out even more than it might if she managed to tan there. It was there since she could remember, a reddish oval line down her chest, smack between her breasts. She kind of liked the mark. It gave character. Though others had disagreed with her many times. Thankfully most of the scars and unpretty marks on her body could be covered with clothes.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her skin tone varied between light and medium olive tones, a gift from her Egyptian mother. Along with the fuller lips. While the dark green eyes and slightly protruding collar bones were all her dad. Her long dark auburn hair still pulled into the messy side braid, little wisps of which were framing her face. The only part of her appearance she wasn’t a fan of were her cheeks. There was nothing explicitly wrong with them but they were fuller than she’d have liked. Evie got graced with these lovely high cheekbones that gave wonderful angles to her face but Nevi got stuck with round only barely defined cheeks. Evie always said that they made her smile more powerful, that it seemed more genuine.

Nevi was pulled from her thoughts by a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. _Something’s wrong_. She sat up straighter on the stool and listened hard. The noise level was the same as it had been, but then where did this feeling come from? She could faintly hear the Americans still at the bar down the hall playing cards but there was something else there too. Some creaks. _Surely a boat will creak on occasion though._ A couple faint thuds. And was that Evie? It sounded like she had started to- scream?

Standing Nevi threw on the first pair of shoes she could find and pulled on her long black robe. Not bothering to tie it. She cracked the door open and looked out down the hall she could see. Nothing. Opening it wider, Nevi stuck her head out just enough to stare down the other end of the hallway. Nothing. _Did I make it up? Maybe I should just go check that Evie is ok._

Before she could do anything else, she felt a hand grab the top of her arm and she was spun backwards. Slammed into the wall, getting the wind knocked out of her. The door slamming shut to her side.

She looked up into intense dark eyes. It was the only part of his face she could see; the rest was obscured by a veil. Nevi could feel the man’s strength as his forearm pressed her into her upper shoulders, digging into the base of her windpipe and holding her to the wall. She felt the cold, sharp steel of a blade against her throat. Her eyes widened and her breath returned to her only in small gasps. She tried in vain to push his arm away from her chest.

“Shit,” Nevi exhaled quietly, willing her legs to continue to support her. She glanced over the man, what she could see of him. _Those black robes look so familiar_. Where had she seen them before?

“Where is the key?” At the sound of his voice her eyes snapped up to his. It was deep and smooth. Huskey but poetic and had something so intensely male in it that Nevi’s stomach flipped with butterflies. _What is wrong with me? This man is holding a knife to my throat!_ But she noticed, despite herself, the flecks of gold in his dark amber brown eyes. _What is actually wrong with me?!_ Suddenly she was very aware of her state of undress. She saw his eyes snap down and back up again. A blush flooded onto her cheeks.

“Wha- what key?” Nevi gasped, finally finding her voice again. The fear in it far more evident than she’d have liked.

He spoke so quickly and harshly that it took Nevi a moment to register that he had spoken in an actual language. _Arabic! She knew Arabic!_ She clamored, trying to translate in her frantic mind. “Where is-”

But she cut him off, “ **I am not lying! I do not know what you mean by a key.** ”

His eyes narrowed immediately as she began speaking. Nevi took a certain pleasure in the fact it seemed to catch him off guard that she knew Arabic. If she could get her brain working maybe she could get out of this.

He acted so quickly Nevi barely noticed his movements. In an instant the knife was gone from her throat and the hand of the arm that had held her against the wall was now at her throat. Long, slender yet powerful fingers wrapping themselves around her throat that now felt no bigger or stronger than a toothpick. “ **Where is the map then?** ”

The map? Nevi paled. The map was with Evie. She couldn’t send this man to Evie.

She tried to swallow but found that her mouth was dry and all she managed was to find a catch in her throat. “ **What?”**

**“The map! Where is it?”**

She could not send him to Evie, she wouldn’t. Nevi would do what she could to protect her. Clenching her jaw and trying to stand up straighter, to show that she was unafraid despite what she felt. Pushing against his arm again and moving it not even a millimeter, she put as much venom and conviction in her voice as she could manage. “ **You’ll have to kill me before I’ll ever tell you that.** ”

Gunshots cut through the air before he could answer. Causing both of them look towards the door. His grip on her throat loosened ever so slightly and Nevi saw her chance. _There’s no way I can punch his chest hard enough to do anything. And his bicep’s probably as big as my waist so there’s no getting at his arm._ Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, she pulled her fist back as far as the wall would let her and sent a punch as hard as she could into his nose.

He grunted and stumbled bakwards. His hand going to his nose, surprise easy to read on his face even with only his eyes showing. Summoning all her strength she shoved at his shoulders before he could snap out of it. He stumbled back a little more. At the same time, Johnathan busted into her room. “Nevi!” He took in the scene in front of him. “What the bloody hell is going on here?”

“No time,” Nevi grabbed his hand to drag him out of the room but before they even got to the doorframe the room was shook with an explosion. Nevi was knocked into Johnathan and the pair of them were slammed into the wall.

Coughing at the smoke that now filled the room Nevi stood to see her room on fire. It had blown its way in from Evie’s room and a beam from the ceiling now lay ablaze through the middle of the room. Separating her and Johnathan from her attacker. She saw him stand. More of an outline in the smoke that a distinct human. As she looked at him the mirror of the armoire reflected the flames, catching her eye.

Her hand shot to her throat. _Their rings!_ The necklace she wore with her parents’ rings was still in the box on the armoire. Nevi went to dive towards the box, the attacker and fire be damned, but a skinny pair of arms caught around her waist. Holding her back.

“Don’t be daft! They aren’t worth your life!” Johnathan yelled over the sound of the fire and chaos that had now taken over the boat. Seeming to have sensed what she was trying to go through fire for.

“They are! Yes, they are! I need that necklace Johnathan!” She screamed back. Forcing him to lift her off the ground and spin her towards the door. He snatched her drawing bag off the hook by the door and pushed her from the room, shoving the bag into her chest as he went. Muttering the whole time about suicide wishes. The next door down the hall was Evie’s. Johnathan spun into the room first, screaming for Evie. When Nevi stepped into the doorway, she was met with the sight of fire everywhere. The screams of another man in black filled the air as he lay sprawled across the loveseat, both on fire. Johnathan was crouched towards the ground reaching for something.

As Nevi looked down, she saw the puzzle box laying by the fire. Fighting back a coughing fit from the smoke, Nevi yelled over the fire “Leave it Johnathan! We have to get out of here!”

The on-fire man in black caught sight of the box as well. Both he and Johnathan lunged for it, Johnathan pulled back victorious and Nevi grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the bar area where the railing of the boat was more open as their chances of escape were higher.

They were met with the sounds of guns shots and hollering. The Americans had set up a blockade of luggage and were involved in a shootout with the bandits. Their Egyptologist kook Chamberlin cowering behind them, looking like he was severely regretting his decision of boarding the boat. Running pillar to pillar, Nevi saw Rick toss Evie into the water, her indignant yell cut off with a sudden splash.

“Rick!” Nevi ran up to him at the same time the warden Hassan did from his other side.

“O’Connell, O’Connell! What are we going to do?” She thought the man was a slimy little prick but he looked panicked as hell.

“Wait here! We’ll go get help!” Rick turned back to Nevi and just as unceremoniously as he did with Evie, picked her up tossed her over the side. Not giving her a chance to scream.

The shock took her breath away. She frantically swam for what she hoped was the surface. Breaking through and inhaling with a heavy gasp as a heavy weight, what she assumed was Rick, hit the water. Wiping the loose strains of wet hair out of her face she looked to her left and saw him bobbing in the water, his rucksack bobbing with him.

“Swim!” Rick yelled and started for the shore where Nevi could see Evie still struggling to get to it.

Nevi treaded water, looking frantically around. “Johnathan! Johnathan!” The next second, he came flying backwards off the deck of the boat and landed with an almighty splash in the water. He came bobbing out of the water, holding the puzzle box triumphantly.

Nevi rolled her eyes and headed for the shore.

*

It felt like ages before she felt the ground under her feet again. The robe, silk or not, was now heavy with water and making it difficult to swim as it wrapped around her legs. She kicked out and used her hands to claw up the bank, gasping for air, exhausted, until the water was mid-calf deep. Standing slowly. As Johnathan and Hassan still made their way to shore.

“What are we going to do?” Evie gasped, out of breath and slightly panicked, standing in knee deep water. “We’ve lost everything! All of our tools, all the equipment! All our clothes!” She gestured between herself and Nevi.

Nevi looked down at herself. _Damn._ She was soaked to the bone and her brassier and bloomers were stuck to her. Not to mention the robe was about 50 pounds now and she could only be grateful that her remaining clothes were green and not see through like Evie’s.

Her white nightgown was soaked through and sticking to her in some unfortunate places, opaque as wet tissue paper. Nevi winced. _Well that won’t do._ Dropping her drawing bag to the ground, she shed her robe and began wringing it out. It was ruined anyway so what was the point of being gentle with it.

“O’Connell!” The shout from across the river made them all turn. A small, twitchy man was yelling from the other shore where the Americans were still getting all their diggers and animals out of the water. “Hey O’Connell! It looks to me like I’ve got all the horses!”

“Hey Beni!” Rick yelled back in mock enthusiasm. “Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the ri-ver!”

The small man, scoffed but looked around and apparently realized Rick was right as he started to have a temper tantrum.

“Friend of yours?” Nevi asked, giving her robe some final wrings.

“Eh, sort of friend I wouldn’t piss on were he on fire.” Rick said, then widened his eyes like he had just realized who he was talking to.

Nevi smirked. “Yea I know some people like that.” And he visibly relaxed. Nevi turned back to where Evie was standing and saw her trying to pull her nightgown away from her body as Hassan looked on with hungry eyes. “ **Hey asshole how about you keep your eyes to yourself!”** She barked at him, wrapping Evie in her robe and helping her the rest of the way out of the water.

Rick splashed past them. “There’s a town just down the road a few miles. We’ll have to walk most of the night to get there but we can resupply and get some rides. Hamunaptra isn’t more than a few days ride from here.”

“Oh chap, maybe we should rest.” Johnathan said sitting down beneath a tree. Looking like he’d fall asleep at any moment.

“Come on Johnathan.” Rick snapped.

“Yep, yea,” Johnathan jumped up, and pointed after Rick looking at Nevi and Evie. “We’re just going to walk to the town ladies.”

“Sounds like plan.” Nevi murmured, smirking to herself. No matter the stressful situation, Johnathan never changed.

*

The town was farther away than Nevi thought it would be. The shoes she’d managed to cram on her feet back on the boat had ended up only being flat slip ons she used as house slippers. Entirely useless in the Egyptian sand and the less then smooth terrain that they were walking across. Her feet kept getting caught in tangles of plants along the bank and stumbling over stones that lay in their path. Every rustle sounded like the slithering of a poisonous snake. Now she wished for the baking heat of the midday desert sun. For all the warmth it gave during the day it felt like it sucked it out of the night and slowly drying from the swim in the Nile just added to the chill that she felt deep in her bones. She walked on with her arms clenched tightly around her.

The group stopped at one point for a quick break. Rick said it was to rest their feet but Nevi suspected he was getting too anxious to know how his weapons bag was fairing. Her clothes were half dry and her feet all dead. Gratefully she sunk onto a low rock formation that at some point in history was probably a fence but now was no more than various sized stones falling away from each other in the chaotic order that gravity inflicts on things. Nevi heard Rick’s pack hit the ground and tumble open.

With reverence she laid her drawing bag on a large rock next to her and gently undid the clasp. The bag itself looked unharmed, thank all the God’s humans had ever willed into existence for that! Nevi let out an audible sigh of relief. The bag had been a gift from her parents. A reward for finally being able to go on an expedition with them. The memory always came to Nevi with such clarity, like it was happening right before her again, every time she thought back to it. Her father, with his trimmed gentlemanly red beard and coiffed back hair, had always gave off every appearance to the proper Edwardian man he was supposed to be, except his eyes. They always sparked with mischief, adventure, the ever driving will to discover and learn. Glinting as he sat her down in their home back in England one early summer morning, right after her lessons had ended for the year and she had just shown up from boarding school with Evie and Johnathan. He’d helped her jump up on the large, plush velvet sofa in their sitting room, kneeling before her with those mischief eyes and wacky smile he would get as her mother sauntered behind him with her arms held behind her back, concealing something, a mischief smile of her own plastered across her face. Her mother, she was so beautiful. Lengths and lengths of midnight hair that fell in curls down her back, always covered with delicately detailed headwraps when they were in public. How her mother loved playing up the ‘exotic wife of a famous explorer’ bit, far more then Evie’s mum had, but it seemed to be some private joke between Nevi’s mum and dad. It was her hands that she remembered best. Those elegant fingers brushing her hair before bed, winding it into elaborate braided designs for special days, holding her hand as they strolled through a market. Mum’s hands had been far too callused and scared to be proper for stuffy old England but to Nevi they just showed how much her mum loved. Actually, cooking food for them instead of a servant doing it, working alongside dad at digs, there wasn’t anything those lovely copper hands couldn’t do. They’d held this bag out to little Nevi with such excitement, as her parents talked over each other and finished each other’s sentences about how their little artist could record their finds and creatively fill in the gasp of décor that ages had wiped away from the catacombs and ruins they would explore… as a family.

The bag was what mattered.

It still stung Nevi though as she pulled globs of what used to be paper from the bag. _There goes sketching anything of this trip, unless I can find some paper in the town._ Her sketch book, a leather and twine bound book with more loose pages shoved into it then not, literally fell in squelching globules of paper pulp as she held it open and upside down in front of her. Nevi knew her mouth was gapped in horror as she looked up from the mess that was her pages into the pained faces of Evie and Johnathan. They had settled next to each other, close to her, Evie sat delicately on a stone from the same no-longer- fence that Nevi was on, clutching the robe around her. Johnathan sat just on the ground next to her feet. Sketches of Thebes and Cairo, so solidly destroyed- _maybe this trip really was cursed by their destination_. With renewed desperation she pulled more from her bag. Next was the wrap of her pencils and charcoals, they were wet but would dry and be almost as good as knew. The little knife she used to sharpen them. More papers, just as much ruined as the firsts. The wrap of her ink pens that should be perfectly fine. Really, it was the best she could hope for. Everything was there… in one form or another. Paper and water were not known to be good friends and it was her fault for using the cheap traveler’s paper, naïvely assuming no harm would come to the pages. She should be relieved- and she was, mostly. Still, the quick sting of coming tears pulled at the inner corners of her eyes and Nevi had to will them away. She occupied herself by moving all the globs of not-paper that had fallen into a little mountain of pulp and fiber to her right. _Pull it together you daft girl._ To add insult to injury the river chose this moment to send a gust of particularly, for Egypt, cold air shooting their way and making Nevi shiver in the little amount of coverage she had.

“Ok, break’s over,” Rick stood slinging his pack over his shoulder’s again and starting to walk. “We’re really close now and can find a place to stay when we get there.”

Hassan grumbled but obeyed. Evie walked over to Nevi and placed a small kiss to her forehead, smiling down at her sadly, “I’m sorry sweetie.” Her eyes trailing to the pile of not-paper.

Nevi shrugged, trying to play it calm. “No worries, it was bound to happen eventually on one of these digs.” She smiled at Evie, standing up. “Really I’m ok. Would love to go to bed though.”

Evie laughed, nodding, and followed Rick. She watched her and felt something get draped over her shoulders. Turning she saw Johnathan giving her his cheeky grin. “You would be the only person in history to die of cold in the Egyptian desert,” he said, adjusting his jacket that he’d wrapped around her. Nevi met his eyes returning the smile, genuinely feeling better.

“Sure, says the one who still has a shirt.” They laughed and followed after the rest. Truly hoping that this blasted village was close and not just in terms of what Rick seemed to consider close. None of the five noticed the dark clad figures emerge from the shadows around the edges of the river.

\--

He’d thought they’d picked a place far enough down river that they wouldn’t have to worry about running into survivors. It had just been chance that the group had walked past where the Medjai were regrouping, waiting to see which other of their brothers would emerge from the fire and water so they could head back to base, but he was happy they did. Even if he did feel guilt of ruining the pretty one’s papers. They didn’t seem a bad lot, just needed to mind their own damned business.

Ardeth laid on his bed roll in his small tent that night looking at the rings on the chain. The fire in the center of the tent circle was low now, he was sure most of his Medjai brothers were asleep. The remaining light flickered softly on the gold circlets through the small gap of his tent’s opening. What could be so important about these that the pretty one would risk her life to jump through fire to get to them? He knew that Western couples in Cairo would exchange rings like these when they took each other as man or wife. But were they hers, why was one not on her finger and the other on her man’s? Did she have a man? He felt a prickle at that.

The man that pulled her away from the fire acted more like a brother than lover. Oh, and she had seemed so sweet wrapping the shorter girl in her robe though it meant she was left more exposed in her undergarments. He smiled slightly at the memory of her telling off the dodgy man that they were traveling with.

Ardeth took a deep breath in through his nose then and winced almost instantly. Gently bringing his hand up to his sore nose. How brave of her also, to fight back, to refuse to give up whichever one of her companions had the map. She had not hit him hard enough to break his nose but it was still tender and slightly bruised. With the pain, brought other memories from their encounter. His body remembering all too well the electric heat that her body gave off. He hadn’t touched her too much but his torso felt it radiating off her and the arm that had held her to the wall had almost felt scorched at the contact. When he’d touched her bare skin at her throat- it was like fire erupting up his arm.

Then there were the other things.

Medjai were not bound from the act of physical love making. So long as the relations were between two consenting adults, not flaunted in public, and kept behind closed doors, his tribe did not look down on the bodies urges. He himself had known the company of a couple of the women at the twelve tribe’s festivals from time to time. But it had been a while. And he was still a man. And she had been fairly undressed.

He closed his eyes and sighed again, making sure to breathe through his mouth this time. Letting his hand clutching her necklace fall to his stomach. Images of her slender waist came back to him. The curve into her wide hips begging to be caressed, held, pressed against him; as his hips moved in a rhythmic motion. He grunted slightly and adjusted his trousers as best he could as they became tighter in the crotch due to his reminiscing. Her heaving chest had been so close to his arm. He imagined her panting from other, more intimate activities. Him making her whine in need, watching small beads of sweat roll down her chest. His hands twitching at the thought of those small but perky breasts against his palms. Planting kisses along the graceful curve of her collar bones.

He shifted again. The extra space in his trousers rapidly disappearing.

Laying kisses on her jaw, those adorable cheeks, the tip of her nose. All as she breathed breathlessly against his neck, muttering words in his ear. Arabic and English, dirty words, words meant for the throws of passion. As he moved those lovely hips against his, grabbed onto her full ass, caressed down those long legs, running his hands through her hair. It had looked so soft. So welcoming. His imagination letting his eyes roam up her again to meet her eyes. He’d want her to look him in the eyes. To fully acknowledge that they were each there for each other. To be his. To want him. If even, merely, for that moment.

The deep green of her eyes… almost a bluish around the outside. The combination of colors reminding him of the depths of an oasis pool. A small almost imperceptible ring of yellow around her pupil. He would not have seen it had he not gotten so close to her. He would not have seen them- so full of… fear. Her eyes had been full of fear. And why not? He had held a knife to her throat. Ardeth scoffed at himself opening his eyes, the illusions gone.

He could not think of her in such a way with his only memory of her being one where she was full of fear. It was not right. It made him feel slightly dirty and predatory just knowing he had gone so far in his imaginings, with her real eyes being full of so much dread. Not to mention he would likely have to kill her, or at least her friends. That made him feel worse.

Ardeth groaned at himself quietly in frustration and disgust. Placing the necklace in a pocket within his robes he rolled onto his side, punching the pack he used as a pillow into a more comfortable position. Forcing himself to concentrate on sleep. And only sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's it going y'all?  
> I'm watching 'Nailed It' and stressing about how the story will be taken, so overall, I'm doing great :D


	4. Chapter 2.5

They were dismissed after more formality on the job acceptance- as if she had a choice, and a very forced speaking from Imhotep on how he was so proud of his counterpart for receiving such an honor. Nenet walked down the halls towards her temple. _He is smoldering that one. He wishes it was he who got the Keeper position_. So be it. She would deal with whatever way Imhotep chose to lash out at her with. Now she would concentrate on reading the waters.

It was only when she turned down an emptier hall that she noticed the footsteps. The barely audible thuds matching her path. Nenet stopped. The sound stopped. She turned to see Ammon, gazing down at her a few paces behind.

“Are you following me?” Nenet was aghast. Where her days of privacy over?

“Yes, priestess.”

“Can you not.”

“No, priestess.” His lips curved into a minuscule smirk. “That is the whole idea of a body guard, priestess.”

She stared at him a moment before slowly turning around. Her shoulders slumped and stomping too much to glide as she walked on. Making her way to the temple with none of the statuesque grace that had been drilled into her upon arrival at the palace.

Nenet busied herself with lighting incenses and starting the sacred herbs alight. Unlike Imhotep, who had his priests cater to anything he needed done, Nenet liked to do these little things herself, it freed up her priestess to hone their own powers and aid those who needed small interventions of divine knowledge. Trying to ignore the Medjai who was standing in the doorway, looking between Nenet and the few other ways into the area, she made her way around the room. _By Isis, he practically took up the whole doorway_.

It was truly starting to annoy her. No longer the irritating buzz of a mosquito, now more like the infuriating continued burn of stinging nettle on skin. She settled herself in front of the pool, her knees resting on a small pillow, and tried to empty her mind. To concentrate only on the soft ebb of the water, the varying shades of blue that swirled in it. But her mind would not empty. She could feel his eyes.

“Must you just stare?” She whipped her head around to glare at him.

“Bodyguard, priestess.” He said, pointing a finger to himself. Even the way he was only calling her ‘priestess’ was grating her nerves.

“Well, Medjai,” putting as much stress on the last word as she could. “I can’t concentrate with you just standing there like that. Can you at least turn around?” He quirked an eyebrow at her and she sighed. _Be civil Nenet._ “Please?”

He thought a moment and inclined his head in a bow. Turning so that his back was now to her and he was facing out into the hall. Nenet’s eyes roamed straight to his backside. Appreciating the way that his muscular tush led way to muscular thighs. Shaking her head, she turned back to her waters. But his deep voice spoke from behind her, “Just scream if you get attacked, alright.”

She laughed at the oddity of the comment before she could stop herself. The quick giggle echoed through the temple. Causing Nenet to slap her hand over her mouth and whip around with wide eyes to see him smiling at her from the doorway. A blush once again crawling onto her cheeks because of him. Remembering the formality of her position she did her best to force it away, removing her hands from her mouth, she said. “Are you always so informal with the Pharaoh?”

His smile grew and Nenet got glimpses of white rows of teeth that contrasted beautifully with the darkness of his skin. The way his lips curved to smile was quite adorable, causing two little dimples to show themselves on his cheeks. “No. But you seem so irritated by my presence I figured I’d give it a shot.” He turned back to watch the hall. Leaving her a little stunned.

She had been staring into the water for about an hour now and only getting vague shapes. Something was blocking her Eye. As much as she wanted to blame him, she knew it was not the annoying presence of the Medjai. She could go to Pharaoh now and advise for the marriage but she had wanted to be 100% sure about the match before that. It only seemed prudent.

Nenet had just closed her eyes to try to clear her mind, when a quick pattering of feet and a high-pitched squeal made her open them again. A heavy weight collided with her back sending her sprawling forward onto the stone edge of the pool. Nefertiti’s voice in her ear, “Father just told me! Congratulations, what an honor.” The girl hugged Nenet as best she could from her position laying on top of her. Nefertiti pushed herself up so that she could look at Nenet’s face. “How pissed was Imhotep? I bet he thought he was going to be appointed.”

Nenet squirmed under her friend and princesses’ weight. The brim of the stone edge digging into her side, “Titi. I can’t- breath.”

“Oh.” Nefertiti quickly climbed off her and pulled her up by her arm. Grinning at her like a child who had just been given a honeycomb.

Nenet grinned back, “From what Pharaoh said, it had a lot to do with you that I got it. So, thank you Titi.”

Nefertiti waved her hand dismissively, “I spoke only the truth. You have yourself to thank.” A mischievous smile found her face. “But tell me. Was Imhotep mad?”

Nenet let a similar smirk cross her face. “He was not pleased.”

Nefertiti laughed. “Serves him right the arrogant beetle. Not that you have any need to worry though, I see you’ve been given the best protection.” She turned to look at the Medjai. “Hello Ammon.”

He inclined his head respectively, his deep voice once again holding formality. “Princess.”

“Yes,” Nenet scoffed slightly, rubbing her ribs where they had met the stone. “Some protection. Letting just anyone tackle me from behind.”

The Medjai raised an eyebrow at her. “I doubted Princess Nefertiti would be of any mortal danger to you. She looked too happy.”

Nenet ‘hmmmed’ in annoyance and Nefertiti laughed. “Smart man,” she turned back to Nenet. “I must go, but congratulations again.” She kissed Nenet’s forehead and walked to the door. Stopping as she reached the Medjai, “Do not let her be mean to you Ammon. She’s just stubborn and hates the idea of being followed everywhere.” She glanced back at Nenet. “Honestly you get used to it.” And with that was gone, her own guards trailing after her.

“I doubt there are many who would thrill at that idea.” The Medjai said. Facing once again to the hallway.

Nenet felt a slight twinge of guilt. It wasn’t this man’s fault she had been assigned a guard.


	5. Chapter 3

“You stay here!” Her mother spoke quietly. The panic in her voice worrying Nevi. She was not dumb. “You stay right here until Papa or I come back for you, you hear me! Papa or I!” Her mother placed her in a small cave made by fallen stones. She leaned in and squeezed her tight. The smell of jasmine and sandalwood overwhelming Nevi’s senses.

“Mama no!” Nevi whimpered back.

“Hush now. Hide.” And her mother was gone.

Nevi pushed herself as far back into the cave as she could go. Pulling her knees up to her chin. She tried to wipe the blood off her arm but soon gave up as the sounds surrounding her became too much. Her small hands pressed so hard against her ears to keep out the sounds of yelling. Of Shooting. People praying. The ululation piercing the night sky. And the stomping of horse hooves. She thought her head would burst if she pressed any harder but as the smell of smoke hit her nose mixed with something more rancid, she couldn’t place; all she could do was press harder. Fully ignoring the sting of the gash on her arm flexing with her muscles. Spilling more blood.

Her eyes shut tight as Nevi rocked back and forth. Praying, trying her father’s English God, her mother’s Allah, even the Egyptian ones of legend who used to roam this land. But nothing made it stop.

Her heart pounded so hard she was sure all that was keeping it in her chest was the pressure of her legs to her torso.

She waited for what felt like hours. The noise of the raiders echoing in her head.

Suddenly a heavy weight was pulling her arm and herself with it out of her cave. She was screaming and kicking and punching. Whatever or whoever had her was shaking her. Screaming back. They were not going to get her. She’d heard stories from the children in Cairo about what happened to people captured by raiders. She lashed out harder. The words being yelled by her assaulter took ages to register in her brain.

“Nevi it’s me! Nevi! It’s me Nevi!” It was Patrick. One of her father’s assistants. “Thank God you’re alive.”

Nevi slowly opened her eyes to see Patrick’s panicked face. Tear stains running through the dirt smudged along his cheeks.

“Girl I am so sorry.” His Irish lilt making the words sound like a sad song.

“Sorry?” Nevi breathed out, “What do you mean sorry?”

He let go of her arms and she leaned around him. There on the ground lay her mother, on her stomach turquoise robes stained bright red along her back. Eyes wide open, staring right at Nevi. Nevi gasped.

She heard Patrick say “Don’t look Nevi.” And felt his arm reach out to her but she was running. Didn’t think her legs could even do that. But there she was. Falling to her knees and bending over her mother’s from. Uncaring of the blood that now soaked her front, mixing with her own blood that covered her left arm.

“Mama!” Nevi screeched into the now still night. “Mama, wake up! Come back! Mama please!” Nevi shook and shook but nothing was happening. She could hear Patrick behind her screaming at diggers and attendants for not seeing to those bodies first, so ‘the girl didn’t have to see them like that’. Those bodies. Them. Plural.

It was then that she saw her father laying just to the other side of her mum’s body. The lower half of his body charred and the rancid smell from before hitting her nose even stronger. Nevi wailed.

Her eyes shot open and she awoke with a gasp. The smell of burning flesh still clinging to her nose, turning her stomach and threatening for her to be sick. It was a moment before her body realized she was awake and allowed her to move. She sat up and flung her legs over the side of the bed, leaning over deeply so her head was between her legs, and she tried to breathe. Nevi thought she was past these dreams. She hadn’t had one in so long and she’d been through other raids on digs and excavations without them coming back. Sending her silent thanks to the universe that it wasn’t the one where her parents walked and talked despite their injuries, she looked up to see Evie still sleeping. The morning sun only just peeking through the thread bare curtains on the hotel room window.

After their hours long walk to the village, they’d found a small hotel that had two rooms available. Plus, the owner had said that come morning there would be plenty of places for them to stock up of food and equipment, and a tent down the way where the girls could find new clothes.

Nevi stood, feeling stiff and highly unrested. The silk of her undergarments now dry but feeling rougher than they normally did due to the sand from the river. She walked as quietly as she could to the window and looked out. The sun was just over the horizon line. One of her favorite things about the desert was how big the sun looked. Especially now, when it wasn’t too warm, the sky was a frenzy of color, and it could still be looked at for longer moments without going blind. Turning her head down to the streets below she saw the village was beginning to wake up. Street vendors were milling around talking to each other. Opening their stalls or finishing breakfast.

There, between two firmly closed stalls was a still, lone figure that caught her eye. A tall man, in all black robes. His turban and veil covering so much of his face that it was a wonder he could see. If it wasn’t the man who had attacked her it was definitely one of his group. Nevi’s eyes widened and she splayed a hand across the grimy window pane.

Turning on her heal she didn’t even think of putting shoes on, only grabbing the robe and pulling it around her as she marched downstairs. To get answers? Probably not, but her impatience had flared and if these lot were going to brazenly attack and burn their transport boat. Only to turn around and sneakily follow them and spy then they had another damn thing coming. Nevi threw open the front door to the hotel and stepped out onto the step. He was gone. The street vendors milled around as they had when she was upstairs but there, between the two stalls right in front of her, was not a mysterious man clad in black robes. She left out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and silently thanked the universe, again, that he wasn’t there because she very truly was caught unprepared to put up any kind of fight. She doubted the basic hand to hand she had picked up from dig assistants would stand a chance against anything he knew.

“Oh hey! Good morning, how’d you sleep?” Nevi jumped and looked to her right seeing Rick strolling up to her from down the street. “I was just checking out what they had around here. No horses but some good camels just down there.” He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. Finally getting close enough to see her face properly, he wrinkled his forehead in concern. “You ok?”

“Yes.” Nevi said too quickly, making his eyebrows shoot to his hairline in doubt. “I mean- yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just woke up with a start is all.” She looked back between the stalls. It was a lame excuse she knew but she also knew that Rick didn’t know her exceedingly well yet, so hopefully he’d think it normal for her.

Either it worked or he was too busy thinking about getting them to Hamunaptra because he nodded. “Yea last night was a lot to take in.” Rick said trying to sound sympathetic.

“Yea something like that.”

“Well we should get going as soon as possible.”

“Um sure, yes. Ok I’ll go wake up Evie then.” Nevi bowed her head and tucked back in the hotel. Leaving Rick, a little stunned and concerned on the front step.

When she reached the door that led into her and Evie’s room the solid wood floor changed to a soft thick mass. Nevi lifted her foot and looked down to see a bundled package in brown paper. She lent down and picked it up, undoing the twine and finding a thick stack of fine paper. Creamy white and soft to the touch. Nevi’s forehead scrunched in confusion. Her head shot up and eyes scanned the hallway, searching in vain for any trace of whoever left this here… for her?

“Hello?”

*

The women in the tent the hotel owner told them about were beyond gracious. Letting all of them bath in warm, scented tubs, and laundering the men’s clothes. Hassan hung around rudely as Johnathan and Rick left to restock the dig. Evie and Nevi stayed behind at the tent and the women helped them dress. They gave Evie a highly decorated black ensemble. Consisting of a fitted, V-neck, three quarter length sleeved dress. With translucent headscarf and veil with silver beaded details. Finishing it off with a belt that jangled with coin shaped beads on it. Nevi’s dress was similar but a greyish sage green that the women repeatedly told her would make her eyes pop from kilometers away. Her dress had no beaded details. Instead it was embroidered with black and bronze shiny thread in the pattern of leaves and flowers. In lieu of a veil to cover her face Nevi chose a longer headscarf that she could wrap around her shoulder, or over the bottom half of her face if she chose.

Evie was still getting into her clothes, but Nevi was already in her dress, letting two of the young teenagers of the village brush through her long hair, as her mind drifted away, thinking about who could have left that paper in front of their door. It had saved her the trouble of trying to find more and was amazing quality. Far better than the paper she had lost. The girls braided her hair into six braids. Twisting them together in twos and then braiding those twists as you would a normal three strand braid. The result was an intricate side braid. Nevi was sure she’d have fun trying to untangle it later on but for the moment it looked wonderful. Before the two ladies left the women of the village lined their eyes with kohl, giving them two sticks of it and two combs.

Evie lagged back to pay the women. Whilst Nevi made her way down the road to meet up with Rick and Johnathan. As she neared, she heard Johnathan arguing with the owner of a camel herd.

“I only want five! Five! I only want five, not a whole bloody herd!” His gestures were that of a wild man. Nevi smirked; she was sure the herd owner knew how many they wanted but was trying to get as much money from the transaction as he could.

It grew when Rick responded, “Just pay the man!”

Johnathan huffed but dug his wallet out and began counting money, “Oh, for heaven’s sake. The cheek. Can’t believe the price of these fleabags.” Handing over the money and taking the reins, he scoffed at the delighted look on the seller’s face. “Yes, happy. Very good.”

The two men turned in her direction, still not taking notice of her. “You probably could’ve got ‘em for free.” Rick commented as they began to walk the camels. “All you had to do was give him your sisters.”

“Yes. Awfully tempting wasn’t it.” Johnathan replied.

“Oi now!” Nevi finally said, making her presence known.

Johnathan started at it, “Oh well you know love, just for the sake of argument and all that.”

“Hey now look at you.” Rick said smiling at her. “We’re going to have to beat the men off with bats just to get anywhere now.”

Nevi bowed her head in mock showing off and did a little spin. “If you think this looks good,” she said gesturing to herself. “You should see Evie.”

Rick blushed, “What? Why-um why would you say that?”

“Oh please.” Nevi gave him a knowing look taking one of the camel reins from him.

At that moment Evie caught up with them and took a pair of reins from Johnathan, smiling over at Nevi and Rick. Rick looked struck over the head. His mouth falling open a bit. “Still want to give her to the camel seller?” Nevi asked cheekily.

“Shut up.” Rick responded petting the nose of his camel.

“Oh, so touchy.” Nevi climbed onto her camel, followed by the rest and they set off after Rick into the desert.

*

They spent two days riding hard into the desert. Stopping only to relieve themselves. At these times everyone else stretched or whatever they needed to do, so that these were the only stops they were making. The desert sun beat down on them all day. Leaving Nevi worried that the light headscarf wouldn’t be enough to keep the harmful rays off her. So far though she hadn’t felt the telltale pinch and dryness of a sunburn. The only relief they got from the sun was during the night. Which themselves weren’t restful as the group didn’t stop to make camp but slept in their saddles. Nevi couldn’t see how Johnathan and Hassan could lean back so freely, trusting they wouldn’t fall, and sleep deeply every night. Every time she tried to sleep, she just got visions of toppling out of her saddle and getting stomped to death by camels. Or her camels milling to the back of the pack and for some damn reason wandering away from the rest until she awoke to find herself utterly lost.

The wind bit through her thin linen and gauze dress. She pulled her headscarf tighter around her shoulders, trying to use it as a shawl, for all the good it actually did her.

It was now the night of the second day.

Rick had said that by early morning tomorrow they would be at Hamunaptra. Nevi could feel an electricity of excitement in the air. Since his announcement Evie and her had been deep in discussion about the city, Rick listening in and asking questions occasionally, this seemed to make Evie giddy. That he would express interest in something that was her life’s pursuit. Johnathan rode a little behind them making mostly unhelpful, but very characteristically him, comments about the amount of wealth hidden in the city. Hassan mostly rode at the very back of their little train, if he wasn’t eating, he was singing or now that it was night, snoring loudly. Evie had finally gotten too tired to speak and was drifting off.

She slid to the side and her head came to rest on Rick’s shoulder. Nevi smiled warmly at the man when he gently set her right and ‘shushed’ her camel when it grunted. She’d come to really like Rick. He was sweet and patient, but certainly could hold his own with Evie’s banter. He seemed good for her. Evie’s camel went to the side a bit and Nevi moved up to ride next to Rick. Behind her she heard the ‘thwack!’ of a camel whip and Hassan grunt loudly out of his deep sleep, saying something about ‘no more goat soup’ and effectively shutting down his loud snoring. Rick and Nevi glanced behind them and smirked at each other seeing Johnathan in a clear attempt at fake sleep. Nevi was sure he’d smacked Hassan to try to buy them some quiet.

Rick turned his attention back in front of them, giving Nevi the side eye. “Can’t sleep huh?” He asked quietly.

“No, the whole sitting up and moving with the rhythm of the camel thing truly isn’t for me. I always think I’m going to fall.” She whispered back.

He chuckled silently at her. But his smile soon fell and he got that expression back on his face, like he was hoping he wouldn’t offend her. “So- that um, scare on your left arm…?” Letting his question float out into the open expanse of the desert, but Nevi knew.

“You don’t have to worry about upsetting or offending me Rick.” She gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him that she meant her words. She ran her hand down her left arm where the ragged six-inch scar circled around the back from her shoulder towards the top of her elbow. She was quiet for so long that he probably thought she wasn’t going to say any more about it. “When I was 11, I went on a dig with my parents. Evie, Johnathan, and their parents were in England for some family wedding on Christopher’s side, their father.” She added to clarify who Christopher was. He nodded but said nothing, letting her continue. “One night our dig got raided. Desert pirates, they’d attack digs or travelers. Steal what they could sell, I’m sure you know the type. We were sleeping when they attacked and I was a little dazed. I tripped when my mum and I were running to find a hiding spot. Sliced it open on a broken statue.”

“And that’s how your, uh- parents died?” He muttered the last two words; Nevi could barely hear him.

“Yea, the diggers and assistants were able to fend off the attack but, a lot of people didn’t make it. My parents included.” Her hand instinctively went to her chest. Meaning to pull out the necklace and fiddle with their rings, she often did this when their memory or the one of the attack was a little too much. But nothing was there. _Of course, you were a foolish idiot and took them off. Losing them forever_. She mentally yelled at herself, bitter tears stinging at the edges of her vision.

“I’m sorry I asked, really I didn’t mean to bring up something so painful.” He said, the apologetic tone in his voice pushed away her tears.

She reached a hand up to her check and brushed away the one rogue tear that had started cascading its way down. “No don’t worry about it. It happened a long time ago. I’ve had my time to mourn.” She was happy that her voice didn’t crack with sadness. “What about you? How’d a Yank like you end up in Egypt?”

“Oh, me.” He let out a humorless laugh. “My parents weren’t that solid to rely on. They came here so my dad could make his fortune or something and ended up deciding that having to drag a kid with them was too much hassle. Dropped me off at an orphanage in Cairo and the rest is history.” His smile wasn’t full of malice or sarcasm, just acceptance of an action long past that there was no way to change. Nevi appreciated this about him. He didn’t seem to be the kind to hold vengeance in his heart.

“I’m sorry, that’s a horrible thing for parents to do.” She looked back at him. Their eyes met and Nevi really did feel a whole new appreciation for the guy.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ve had my time to mourn.” Rick gave her a true smile and she answered back with one of her own.

They were quiet for a beat before Nevi turned to him, intending to ask about his time in the Foreign Legion. “So, what was it like-,” she trailed off, distracted almost instantly. Staring up at the cliff side in the distance, where the silhouette of horsemen stuck out against the deep lapis blue of the clear night sky.

Rick, seeing her face drop and attention on their conversation falter, followed her gaze. His face setting immediately into one that easily let Nevi see the solider that still dwelled within him.

“You think those are the ones from the boat?”

“No doubt.” His serious tone making her confess something that until now she’d kept to herself. Finally realizing why the black robes looked so familiar.

“I think I saw them at the dock in Cairo.”

Rick turned back to her, the questioning look enough of a prompt to get her to continue.

“Their robes look familiar. I thought a saw a small group of them watch us board the boat. Then after the attack when we were at the village, I thought I saw one standing amongst the vendors on the street.” Nevi confessed. Feeling like maybe she should have confided in Rick before now, but honestly, she thought they were just run of the mill bandits until she remembered the Cairo docks. Run of the mill bandits didn’t stalk a dig like this.

“When I walked up to you and you looked like you’d seen a ghost?”

“Yea,” Nevi pondered. “Should we be worried?”

Rick took a moment but shook his head. “No, there’s no need to worry.”

But he was not convincing. “Liar.” Was her only response but she let it die for now.

*

The heat came early the next day. The sun wasn’t even over the horizon yet. Ahead of them another group came into view. The sound of horses announcing the arrival of the Americans long before they saw them. The two groups met and halted. Rick and the American’s guide he knew, Beni, turned away from the cliff side. Facing their groups towards the open desert.

“Good morning gorgeous! You didn’t have to dress up for little old me.” Henderson called out to Nevi, laughing loudly as she scoffed at him and turned away.

“What the hell we doin’?” Daniels barked at Beni.

“Patience, my good barat’m. Patience.” Beni’s greasy voice caused Nevi to grimace.

“Remember our bet O’Connell.” Henderson leaned forward to look at Rick and spit out a big wad of chew juice. Evie and Nevi sharing a disgusted look. “First one to the city, 500 cash bucks. A hundred of them bucks is yours if you help us win that bet.” Henderson turned to Beni.

“Oh, my pleasure.” Beni bowed his head. _Sleezy ball._ “Hey O’Connell. Nice camel.” Beni sneered at Rick.

Rick mostly ignored him, petting his camel on the head. Nevi looked down at what Beni was riding. “You do know that you’re on a camel too, right?” Nevi questioned. Truly concerned about his intelligence at the moment.

He looked down. Seeming confused about how to retort to her statement.

“Get ready for it.” Rick muttered into the following silence.

Nevi looked at him, as Evie voiced their shared confusion. “For what?”

“We’re about to be shown the way.” Rick stated.

“So dramatic.” Nevi muttered earning her a half assed glare from Rick.

She stared off into the distance with the rest and felt her breathing hitch as she tried to inhale sharply at the sight before her. As the sun rose over the horizon, heat waves from the orb created a mirage effect. Slowly revealing ruins, like an invisible blanket being pulled down them.

The Americans were the first to break the silence.

“Will you look at that.” said Daniels.

“Can you believe it?” Henderson moved restlessly in his saddle.

“Hamunaptra.” Burns breathed out. Nevi glancing over at him, appreciative of the awe in his voice.

“Here we go again.” Rick let out before whipping his camel into a fast run. Everyone else followed quickly. The shouts and calls ringing through the air as both groups raced to see who’d make it into the city first.

Rick and Beni were in the lead. Nevi and Johnathan not far behind them. Nevi watched as Rick caught up with Beni and the man began hitting Rick with his camel whip. Rick soon tired of this and grabbed onto it, giving it a tug and pulling Beni off his camel so he rolled on the ground underneath their camel’s feet. “So long Beni!” Rick called back.

Nevi hadn’t noticed Evie catch up and pass them, but she leaned down and said with such a mother voice that Nevi laughed out loud, “And that serves you right!” Before egging her camel forward so she was even with Rick. Evie did something that spurred her camel more and before Nevi knew it Evie was far ahead of Rick.

“Whoooo!” Nevi hollered out, wholly unladylike, whooping her fist in the air. “Whooo-hoo!”

“Go, Evie! Go!” Johnathan added excitedly.

They watched as Evie rode into the city and soon followed her.

*

Nevi looked across the way at the Americans group. The three men and Chamberlin were standing around as their diggers moved heavy stones at the remanence of the front entrance of the temple. She turned back to her group. Watching Evie try to scrap eons of dirt off an ancient mirror so they could light the underground room that Rick was currently breaking into the ceiling of. “Are you sure we’re starting in a good spot? I doubt that hack Chamberlin is in the know enough to pick a good spot, but still.” Nevi asked gesturing over her shoulder at their other group.

“Oh yes, according to all my readings this is where we’ll want to be.” Evie spoke quickly, full of anticipation. Nevi had to trust her. While they’d both studied about Hamunaptra Evie was certainly the reining expert on the subject. “This statue of Anubis,” she said pointing up to the crumbling statue that loomed over them. “Its legs go deep underground. According to the Bembridge scholars, that’s where we’ll find a secret compartment containing the golden Book of Amun-Ra.”

Nevi scoffed, “The Bembridge scholars.”

This earned her a quieting glare from Evie, “Don’t start.”

They’d long argued about the relevancy and prestige of the Bembridge scholars. So, Nevi raised her hands in mock surrender and walked over to stand by Johnathan, watching Rick tie a rope around a large pillar so they could lower themselves into the newly opened room.

Rick cleared his throat and gestured toward Evie, mumbling what sounded like, “I’m just going to- um… over this way-.” Leaving the rest of his attempt as excusing himself casually to trail off.

Nevi watched him with a raised eyebrow and cheeky smirk as he walked over to Evie and started asking her about the mirror she was cleaning. Nevi elbowed Johnathan and the two watched as Rick offered her a bundle and mimed chiseling. He turned back to them looking as awkward as Nevi had seen him yet. Hassan watched him and Rick snapped “What’re you lookin’ at?” Stomping the rest of the way to the opening in the ground and stopping when he saw Nevi and Johnathan smirking at him. His blush deepened and grabbed the rope to start suspending into the hole.

Hassan walked up to the edge, “Hey! Look for bugs. I hate bugs.” _You hate bugs and you volunteered to go on a dig out in the desert?_ Nevi gave him a disbelieving look. _Damned weird._

Evie followed Rick and Nevi followed her into the hole. As she let go of the rope and stepped away, she found herself surrounded by darkness. “Do you realize we’re standing inside a room no one has entered in over 3,000 years?” Evie voiced. Nevi smiled, the familiar giddy feeling building in her stomach, the kind she remembered from previous digs.

Nevi heard Johnathan clumsily climb down the rope and exclaim. “Whoo! What is that god-awful stench?” Hassan grunted above him, still climbing down, and Johnathan mouthed ‘oh’. Walking over to stand by Nevi. They listened to Evie fumble her way through the dark to find another mirror.

As she angled it to catch the sun from the mirrors outside, she said, “And then there was- light.”

Suddenly the room filled with and Nevi was temporarily blinded, having chosen an unfortunate place to keep her eyes, as it turned out to be a mirror and the light shocked her eyes too much.

To her right she heard Rick’s voice say, “Hey that is a neat trick.”

She heard Evie gasp, “Oh, my god. It’s a sah-netjer.” Still unable to see anything beyond basic shapes.

“Huh?” Rick sounded thoroughly confused. Nevi blinked quickly, willing her eyes to work again. And a large room with stone tables came into view. Sand covered the floor, which was a shame because Nevi would bet good money that the intricately laid floor beneath them would have been fascinating to see.

“A preparation room.” Nevi answered Rick. Picking up a torch and lighting it, making her way through the chamber.

“Preparation for what?” Now he sounded more wary of whether he wanted the answer he was about to get.

“For entering the afterlife.” Evie said in a mock spooking voice. Rick pulled his pistol from his chest holster and cocked it.

“Mummies, my good son.” Johnathan walked past him clapping him on the shoulder. “This is where they made the mummies.”

The group made their way down the hallway leading out of the room. Nevi once again trailing behind Rick and Evie with Johnathan and Hassan following. A rapid scuttling along the ceiling had them all jump and Rick whip his head back and forth.

“What the- what was that?” Hassan’s voice echoed up from the back of the line.

Rick started to walk again. “Sounds like… bugs.” He teased.

“He said bugs.” Evie called back in a mock whisper and Nevi laughed as Hassan’s voice sounded from the back again, sounding beyond panicked.

“I hate bugs.”

“Not a great place for you to be then, huh?” Nevi called back to him.

*

Nevi winced back from the pebbles falling from the ceiling. Not feeling a deep-seated need to get some in her eyes. They’d found the base of the Anubis statue they’d stood next to above ground but as had the Americans. There were a few tense moments as all the men had held guns to each other in a standoff to see who got to dig there. Evie though had other plans and made Rick lower his arms and their group relocate a level below. They now stood in a room beneath Anubis chiseling their way into the ceiling in hopes of coming in beneath Anubis’s legs and getting to the secret compartment that way. She stood next to Rick on a small sphinx statue, holding a crowbar or malate depending on what he wasn’t using at the moment. Evie stood on the other side of him, poking at the ceiling with the mini chisel from the tool kit Rick had given her. And Johnathan stood on the ground, holding a torch and overseeing the work. Or so he said. Hassan had disappeared.

“According to these hieroglyphics we’re underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs.” Evie said.

“When those damn Yanks go to sleep- no offense,” Johnathan added looking at Rick. Rick adjusted his bandana around his neck, muttering ‘none taken’, before Johnathan continued. “We’ll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them.”

“Are you sure we can find this secret compartment?” Nevi turned to Evie.

“Oh, yes, if those beastly Americans haven’t beaten us to it. No offense.” She mirrored her brother, looking towards Rick.

“None taken.”

“Where’d our smelly little friend get to?” Johnathan asked the room.

Nevi sighed and looked around. He really had just wandered off. She didn’t care for him but he was part of their group and this led to her feeling mildly responsible to make sure he didn’t get injured. These old tombs and temples weren’t always stable and ceilings had been known to collapse. “No idea. I’ll go look for him though.” She jumped down off her statue and handed the crow bar to Johnathan before grabbing a torch and a small knife that Rick had loaned her. Understanding her want to have some sort of protection since she’d lost her pistol during the boat fire. She was ok with knives, better with swords, five-time fencing champion thank you very much, but she’d manage.

“Are you sure?” Evie turned to her.

“Oh yes,” Nevi looked over her shoulder and smiled at her. “We should at least make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble. “Besides I don’t really want to be here when you lot bring that ceiling down on yourselves.”

Evie stuck her tongue out at her and Nevi chuckled as she made her way down the hallway. The light hearted feel quickly left her as she moved farther from her group. The giddy, new-find feeling that she’d had in the sah-netjer had faded. There was something about this place. Nevi had been in her fair share of ancient sites but there was a weight to this one. A vibration that didn’t sit well with her. It felt as if the walls were watching her. Like a space in a nightmare she’d once had, the floor itself was going to swallow her whole. She held out the torch to try to light her way through the cold dark. Sand crunched under her feet and her grip tightened on Rick’s knife. Her pulse thumped against her throat. A shiver went down the back of her neck. She whipped around to see… nothing. An empty dark hall. _Oh now! Don’t work yourself into a tizzy._

At the end of the long corridor she came to a T-junction. Nevi bite her bottom lip. “Mr. Hassan?” She called out into the quiet. Her voice echoed down the hallway. “ **Mr. Hassan are you ok?** ”

No answer. _Pick a side I suppose_.

She turned down more hallways. Winding her way through the empty space. After multiple turns and back tracks when she hit dead ends, she decided that maybe she should go back to the first turn she made. Another shiver went down her spin. Or maybe just leave him to his own accord, he was a grown man after all. Nevi’s over active ears picked up a rustle behind her and she whipped around. She could have sworn she saw the edge of a robe fly around the corner.

Nevi tried to swallow but her dry throat stuck painfully.

\--

Ardeth breathed hard in the darkness of the small nook he’d been forced to fling himself into. He hadn’t counted on the smelly one wandering off nor the pretty one leaving the group to find him. Ardeth and some of the others had snuck into the bowels of the temple to see how much the foreigners had found. How close they were to finding the creature. It was almost like the pretty one had sensed exactly where he was. Every move he had made to stay secret and get away from her she had followed. Thank Allah that she couldn’t see the opening to the nook he was hiding in from her position down the hall.

He tried to keep his breathe steady and quiet as he heard her footsteps echoing closer to him.

“ **Hello? Who’s there?** ” Her voice sounded frightened.

A guilty ping went through his stomach. He was always scaring her. Ardeth heard her take an audibly loud breathe in.

“Yes, that’s good Nevina. Ask the scary ancient darkness who’s there. Like it would really be better if it answered you back.” A small grin eked its way onto his face. “Oh, yes, now you’re talking to yourself.” The grin turned into a wide smile.

“ **Gad! This isn’t funny!** ” Fright in her voice now covered with impatience.

A loud crash echoed down through the halls, causing even Ardeth to jump. The pretty one, Nevina she’d called herself, let out a sharp shriek. He heard her footsteps falling away from his hiding spot as she ran back towards the noise.

\--

Nevi scrambled her way back down the halls. _What the hell had that been?!?_ A sudden shrill yelling echoing down the hall in front of her, as she neared the first intersection she’d gone down, made her pull up fast. Hassan was running right at her holding his head and screaming bloody murder. He made a sharp turn right before her and ran down the hall that the rest of the group were down. Nevi watched from the end of the hall as Rick, Evie, and Johnathan ran out just in time to see Hassan run head first into the stone wall. The distinct crack of bone meeting stone pierced right at Nevi’s spine, making her cringe and jump. The others looked behind them right at Nevi.

“Nevi.” Evie gasped. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“He just came running at me.” Nevi said quietly, walking up to be level with them.

“Did you see what happened?” Rick asked softly, understanding that Nevi was freaked out.

She just shook her head, staring down at Hassan’s body. Rick walked over to check his breathing. Looking up at the others after a moment he shook his head, Hassan was gone.

“Perhaps we should call it a day.” Johnathan offered.

The others readily agreed. By the time they got to the surface the sun was setting. They set up camp in relative silence.


	6. Chapter 3.5

Over the next few days Nenet became used to the Medjai’s presence where ever she went. After she had gotten him to stop following her and walk beside her the situation wasn’t as annoying. As they were in public most of the time, he kept a formal air up, professional, but at times when they were by themselves, he would let out the occasional comment that made Nenet truly laugh like she hadn’t in a while. She still wasn’t sure how much of his loyalty lay with her or with the offices of government and the protocol of the Medjai. But he was funny at least.

It was the night of the seventh day of being the Keeper of the Library of the Sphinx and Nenet was wide awake. Once a month when the moon disappeared into the blackness of the heavens, she would sneak to the kitchens and take food. The niceties that they were graced with in the palace, fruits and wholesome vegetables. Nenet would take them to the orphanage in the slums of Thebes. She wasn’t sure why she started it. Maybe to try to help those who, without the intervention of the Pharaoh, were just as poor as she would have been. Maybe because she felt guilt over getting so lucky. Maybe the Gods willed her to. Whatever it was, tonight was the night. She was merely waiting on the changing of the Medjai guard. Halfway through the night they would switch and that was her best chance of slipping out of the palace unnoticed.

The time was close. She slipped out of bed and pulled a small bag from under her bed. In it was a shabby of a dress as she could get her hands on from the palace. A plain, white linen shift that fell to just below her knees. Pulling it on over her gauzy sleeping dress. She then fastened the thin cotton cloak over her shoulders and pulled the hood up to hide her face. She crept to her door and eased it open. The hallway was deserted.

As she snuck her way down to the kitchen, she took great care to avoid any light glows cast from torches that Medjai or servants may be wandering with. She wasn’t entirely sure that what she did once a month was illegal, but it would definitely be frowned upon and likely enough to get her kicked out of the palace, hopefully with both hands still attached. She was stealing palace food after all. While Pharaoh Seti may not take too much issue with it, as the food was going to starving children, the council and advisors had to be taken into consideration. He would need to placate them should they find her guilty of the heinous crime of stealing from the Pharaoh. So as to not push her luck, even as a divine priestess, she moved quietly. Reaching the kitchens and filling up a reed basket with bread, fruits, and vegetables that it was unlikely the orphans would ever have seen had she not given it to them. Nenet took some strips of linen that were used to hang dry herbs and wrapped her hands and wrists with them. An attempt to cover the sacred tattoos of priestesshood that covered her skin. Placing the basket on her head, like she used to when she was a girl, she snuck into the night from the kitchens back door. Headed to the poor neighborhoods of Thebes looking like nothing more than a peasant girl.

She knew the way well. It felt like no time before she was at the orphanage’s door. Taking the basket down from her head, she slowly pushed open the door. These people were too poor to afford the fancy metal workers who could make locks. As always, the inside was quiet, dark. Not once had the heads of the orphanage tried to find out who left the food. The Gods were likely behind it after all. Nenet placed the basket on the ground and pushed it farther into the room and shut the door.

The walk back to the palace was always less stressful then the one to the orphanage. The condemning items were out of her possession and therefore, were she caught, could always make the excuse that it was a chore for the Gods, a random urge to roam the dark city, sleep walking. Anything.

Nenet was finally feeling sleepy, looking forward to the few hours of sleep she could get before the sun returned. She slipped into the kitchen and softly closed the door.

“It is unsafe for you to wander the city alone, priestess. Especially at night.” The voice was a whisper from the dark corner of the kitchen.

Nenet froze too scared to turn around. For a few moments, she just stood there. She was caught. Found out. Stealing from the palace. From the Pharaoh! She was going to be killed. At the very least missing a hand quite soon and thrown into poverty. Willing her resolve to hold she took as deep a breath she could with her constricted lungs and turned. Ammon stepped out of the darkness. His face unreadable but Nenet doubted he was happy.

“Medjai,” she said breathlessly. How would she get out of this? _Act calm._ “I did not realize that you watched me over night.”

He stepped closer to her, quickly closing the gap of space between them. “I’m sure.” He appraised her for a moment and all she could so was stare back at him with wide eyes, trying to keep the fear from them. But he saw. She knew he did. His voice came out softer than before, “You should not have snuck away from your guard priestess.”

“I- I did not sneak,” She tired to pull herself up to a commanding height. She was the High Priestess after all. That came with a certain amount of power. “I was just… um- just,” But she was at a loss. Instead of an excuse the next thing she found tumbling from her lips was, “How much did you see?”

“Everything. You sneaking out of your room. You taking food. Going to the slums. Giving the food to an orphanage. Sneaking back.”

Despite herself, Nenet was impressed, her face scrunched in confusion. “Where were you? I didn’t see you the entire time. The hall was completely deserted.”

“Only to your eyes. I’m good at my job priestess.” He gazed down at her and it was at this moment that Nenet fully understood just how much taller than she, he was. She was not a short woman and yet he stood at least a head taller than her. Gently, he said, “I am not going to tell anyone.”

“Why?” She couldn’t understand this.

He shrugged, _shrugged?,_ “You took food to starving orphans. I cannot see how this is a betrayal to your Pharaoh or his kingdom.”

Nenet was filled with a new appreciation for the man. Gratitude flooded her heart, “Thank you Medjai.”

“Ammon, priestess. Please call me Ammon.”

“Alright,” she said, “Then you call me Nenet. Not priestess.”

He hesitated only a moment before inclining his head in a bow and stepping to the side held out his arm towards the door that led into the rest of the palace, “Then allow me to escort you back to your chambers, Nenet.” It was the first time that he had said her name. A shiver crawled down her spine, but she walked towards the door with him close behind.

They walked in silence back up to chambers. It was only at the door, when she’d placed her hand on it to push it open, that he spoke, “You were not born in the palace. Were you?”

Nenet turned to look at him, an odd expression on his face, “No, I was born in a little village down the Nile a ways.” She looked at him a moment and a thought struck her. “You weren’t born in Medjai palace ranks?”

He shook his head. “In a small village in the middle of the desert. Around Karnak.”

She nodded. Should have guessed. You could always tell who was born in the palace. Nenet loved Nefertiti but, all the same, you could tell.

“Goodnight, Nenet.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke her name, but turned to stand at the side of her door.

“Do you not sleep?” She asked him, astonished that he was planning on standing there instead of going to his own room.

That playful smirk was on his face as he turned to her and said, “No.”


	7. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, things in bold are Arabic :)
> 
> I know also that most Muslim's don't drink alcohol but I always got the impression that the Medjai while Muslim were more of a mix of old beliefs and new. Some unique culture with bits and pieces of more modern Egyptian Islamic beliefs while still having a heavy amount of old school Egyptians paganism.

“What do you suppose killed him?” Evie asked, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders and staring in the fire. Nevi looked down also, twirling one of her rings around her finger, a small tiger’s eye stone on a simple silver band. She felt sick to her stomach still. Guilt sat heavy in her center, _why hadn’t she gone down the other hallway?_ If she had maybe she could have helped him…

“Did you ever see him eat?” Johnathan joked, trying to lighten the mood. Normally Nevi appreciated his attempts at doing this in tense situations but it was still too fresh, too personal for her. She felt temper flare behind her eyes.

“Shut it Johnathan. The man is dead.” She snapped at him and felt guiltier still when he hung his head. Nevi poked his knee and gave him a small smile. Trying to apologize without actually apologizing so he knew she wasn’t mad at him.

He smiled softly, “It wasn’t your fault you know. You couldn’t have done anything about it.” Nevi looked away. For all his faults. His irresponsibility, his carelessness, and tendency to immorality; Johnathan was a very astute, very good big brother.

Rick showed back up at that moment from his visit to the American’s camp and knelt down on one knee, holding his shotgun. “Seems that our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today. Three of their diggers were, uh… melted.” He said testing the last word, like he wasn’t sure if it was the correct one to use.

“Melted?” Nevi echoed aghast.

“What?” Evie gulped.

“How?” Johnathan asked horrified.

“Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid.” Rick said nodding to reassure them that he wasn’t joking one bit. “Some kind of ancient booby trap.”

“Maybe this place really is cursed.” Johnathan and Nevi said at the same time. Sharing a look when they realized.

At that moment a wind swept through the camp, causing their fire to falter. Rick, Nevi, and Johnathan shared significant looks.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, you three!” Evie huffed. She never did believe in abnormal phenomena in the universe. After her parent’s had died, Nevi secured a Ouija board from one of the older girls at school in an attempt to contact them. Sitting there in the dark of their dorm room on the solid wood floor as she tried to contact the spirt realm and Evie had tried not to scoff and make too many doubtful comments, had really helped her heal. The fact that Evie cared enough to go against what she deeply believed to make Nevi feel even an ounce better, she had realized that life would press on, and Evie would be there for her and with her through it. She was not alone.

“You don’t believe in curses?” Rick asked.

“No, I don’t. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, it’s real. That’s what I believe.” Evie stated with finality.

“What if you can see and touch the effects of the curse?” Nevi asked her ominously.

Evie just glared, unamused, as Rick cocked his shotgun. “I believe in being prepared.”

Again, trying to break tension, Johnathan reached over and grabbed Hassan’s bag. “Let’s see what our friend the warden believed in.” Shoving his hand in the bag unceremoniously. It was a beat before he pulled his hand back out, yelling in pain, and sucking on his finger.

Evie screamed and jumped away from him and into Rick. While Rick swung his shotgun up, pointing at the bag.

“Oh my god! What is it?” Nevi lent towards him. Though she wasn’t sure how she was going to help him.

“A broken bottle.” Johnathan said too calmly for the heart attacks he’d just given them. “Glenlivet. Twelve years old!” Johnathan said excited at the idea of good booze, uncorking the bottle. “Well he was a stinky fellow but he sure did have good taste.” Bringing the bottle to his lips for a long pull.

Nevi giggled at that, the tension slowly releasing from her shoulders and reached forward to take a swing before handing it back to Johnathan.

In her peripheral vision she saw Rick perk up, drawing her attention to him. The alertness on his face making the smile slide off hers. “Rick?”

“Take this. Stay here.” He said thrusting his shotgun at Evie and running towards the American camp.

It took only a split-second look between Nevi and Evie before both girls were on their feet running after Rick with Johnathan close on their tails, yelling about Rick telling them to stay put.

The chaos that met Nevi’s eyes immediately struck a chord in her memory. Recalling the night her parent’s dig had been attacked. This was happening far too often for her liking lately. She managed to keep her head only by getting angry that these pricks were attacking them- again.

Men in black robes, rode around the camp swinging swords and shooting diggers down. Ululation ringing through the air. Nevi ran to one of the diggers working for the Americans. He was sprawled on his belly, an ominously dark stain spreading it’s way down his arm. She reached him, falling to her knees and felt down his arm where the stain was, by the feel a gash down his arm but he would live. Knowing better then to heave him over, should something be wrong with his neck or head, she leant over him and raised his eyelid. His pupil contracted and he groaned.

Nevi sighed, “Stay down”.

Jumping back up to her feet to check on another man a few feet away, she heard a much closer ululation. A rider came galloping towards her and she ducked in time that his scimitar missed her by inches. She heard a shot ring out close to her and the thud of a body as the horseman behind her fell. Nevi lifted her head up to see Burns giving her a curt nod before taking off after his friends into the heat of battle. Turning she saw the riders body splayed out on the sand. Kneeling down she felt over his body, grabbing a couple of knives and tucking them into the belt around her waist that held the knife Rick loaned her. She pressed her fingers to his neck, there was a faint thud. Maybe he would live. Nevi lunged forward grabbing the scimitar before standing again, the swirl of her skirts catching as another rider rode past her and she was forced to duck again.

From across the small square that the American’s had built their camp around she heard Johnathan’s voice yelling “O’Connell!” Turning to her left she immediately felt his body slam in to hers. Knocking them both over. She stood quickly her arm reaching out protectively around him, scimitar at the ready. Johnathan behind her pulling at her shoulders; trying to get her to run. _But where would they run to?_ This was one of multiple times with these asses on this trip, and Nevi was tired of it. Scrounging around her mind for any remaining information she could about fencing and how it might translate to actual sword fighting, she stared down the rider who was chasing Johnathan as he continued to charge towards them.

Torch light behind him silhouetted his broad shoulders as he halted by a toppled over stone pillar before them. His horse brought him millimeters closer but just enough that more light hit his face, most of which was covered by turban and veil. She knew those eyes though. It was the man who had attacked her on the boat. She’d never forget the dark amber eyes. She had means of defense now though, so clenched her jaw and tightened her hold on the sword. She doubted she could hold her own against him but she would sure as hell try!

So, Nevi stared him down, defiant. She tried to ignore Johnathan’s whines to run at the same time attempting to push him backwards to put more distance between them and the rider.

Out of nowhere Rick’s body was flying through the sky off the fallen pillar and colliding with the rider. Knocking him to the ground. Both did similar barrel rolls to their feet. Rick shot the scimitar out of the man’s hands. The man unsheathed another scimitar with lightning speed and hit the gun out of Rick’s hands. He swung a back hand making Rick go into a backwards roll to avoid the sword. Popping up again with a stick of dynamite from nowhere and lighting it in a fire. Staring at the rider, daring him to make a move.

“Enough. Yallah.” The man’s voice called out clearly through the chaos and immediately his men stopped. The man turned back to Rick and Nevi gasped quietly. The veil had fallen from the lower half of his face and he was standing in the light of the fire. For the first time she saw all his face. He was incredibly handsome. His tanned copper skin glowed in the torch light, showing defined cheek bones with two tattoos across them in an Arabic script. An elegant, powerful jawline, framed by a well-maintained beard, was set in determination as he looked at Rick. His thick, dark shoulder length curls were mostly contained by his turban but Nevi bet that they’d be soft. She felt the heat of attraction grow in the depths of her abdomen and squirm its way between her legs. Especially as he spoke again and she could hear his soft Egyptian accent. “We will shed no more blood, but you must leave.” He swung back up onto his horse that one of his men had returned and they prepared to leave, having collected their fallen brothermen. “Leave this place or die. You have one day. Yallah! Nimshi!”

As he rode past where she was standing with Johnathan still behind her, his eyes shifted down to meet hers for a split second. Then he was gone. Back out into the dark night.

Rick watched them go. Shifting his gaze to Nevi and Johnathan he pointed in their direction. “Are you two ok?”

“Swell.” Nevi said dryly.

Behind her though Johnathan’s shrill voice filled her ears. “Do I bloody look ok?!”

“Oi now, that’s my ear.” Nevi growled at him ducking away. Rick rolled his eyes and glanced around. He took off a little way behind him and reached towards the ground.

“Evelyn.” He gently lifted her up from where she’d been knocked over. “Hey, are you alright?”

She nodded. Nevi and Johnathan walked over to stand near them. Rick still held onto Evie and Nevi smiled despite the attack that just happened.

“That proves it. Old Seti’s fortune’s got to be under this sand.” Henderson’s loud voice interrupted the touching moment. “For them to protect it like this, you know there’s treasure down there.” He seemed far too happy or comfortable with the fact that they’d just been attacked.

“No,” Rick said warily. “These men are desert people. They value water not gold. This is something else.”

“Besides, they live out here. If the treasure was here and they knew it and wanted it? It would already be long gone.” Nevi added.

“You know, maybe just at night, we could, uh, combine forces, hmm?” Burns asked. Nevi realized that he still had shaving cream covering half his face.

\--

Their group moved their tents closer. Nevi was picking up the last of their equipment left at the old camp when a voice came up behind her. “Hey honey cakes. You need any help moving stuff?”

She turned to see Henderson walking towards her. “No, no it’s all been moved.” She gave him a tight smile, hoping he’d catch a clue eventually that she wasn’t interested.

“Ya know I was thinking.” He looked down at her. His blond hair falling into his eyes in what she figured he thought was a charming way. He leaned his arm against the pillar she stood by and all but boxed her in, looming over her.

“Oh dear, well I hope you didn’t hurt something.” Nevi replied with mock sweetness and concern. She saw the dark look cross his face through it was gone in a blink.

He rearranged his features into a simpering pout, “I was thinking that, for safety, you should bunk up with me. I’d hate for some desert barbarian to hurt one hair on your pretty little head.”

Nevi quirked her head to the side. “My pretty little head can take perfectly good care of itself thanks.” She turned to leave but found her way blocked by his other arm. Now fully circled in by his body or the pillar. He was so close that he couldn’t see what her hand was doing if she moved slowly enough. Her hand gripping one of the knives she’d taken from the fallen rider.

“Oh, now darlin’, I mean real protection. The kind only a man can provide.”

She glared, temper burning behind her eyes. “I don’t know what delusion you are living in but I am absolutely not interested. As far as protection goes,” she twitched her wrist and he looked down feeling the knock against his thigh. While he’d been making an ass of himself, she had pulled her knife and placed it ever so gently against his inner thigh. Leading in a direction that could seriously impede his manhood should she choose to twitch her wrist too much. “I assure you I can take care of myself.”

He raised his hands in surrender, stepping back and letting her walk away. She wound her way through their newly joined camp, anger still coursing through her veins. Red splotches popping across her vision. Nevi’s full attention rested on her feet.

And she ran head long into someone. Bouncing off them, stumbling to catch herself, she looked up to see Burns.

“Oh sorry Mr. Burns.” She huffed, straightening her braid over her shoulder.

“Call me Bernie. You alright?” He brushed imaginary dust off the front of his white undershirt and adjusted his glasses.

“Yes, fine.” Nevi moved to go around him. He reached out and touched her elbow, looking down at her face in concern.

“Is Isaac giving you a hard time again?”

“Who?” She asked confused.

“Henderson.”

“Oh um, it’s uh- it’s fine.” She straightened. Considering Burns was his friend it was probably best to keep it to herself. She would square her shoulders and, with quintessential British perseverance, get through the next few weeks wholly ignoring Henderson.

“Yea.” Burns looked down shaking his head. As he looked back up at her, “Listen I’m really sorry. He’s used to ladies falling at his feet. Sometimes he forgets what a fine line there is between his personality and being a prick. Not that, that means a whole hell of a lot to you though.” He smiled apologetically.

Nevi gave him a small smile back. “Thanks.” She turned away and made her way back to camp. When she walked up, she saw Johnathan laughing and taking long swigs off the Glenlivet. He was laughing at Rick and Evie. They were currently in hot discussion about their run into the attack earlier.

“I did perfectly fine thank you.” Evie huffed, wagging her finger at Rick, really looking like the cross librarian she was.

“All I’m saying is next time just listen to me.” Rick retorted. “You hired me to keep you safe.”

The frustrated ‘oooph’ that Evie let out made Nevi quirk a brow as she sat cross legged on her bed roll around the fire, making sure not to bump into the lean-to tent/wind blocker she’d sent up. As Evie reached over to grab the bottle from Johnathan, Nevi said, “Is that a good idea?”

“Those bloody raiders won’t be making a double showing tonight.” Johnathan said, taking the bottle back.

“Well, you watch it missy. Some of us remember the spring formal senior year at school.” A truly glorious tale of Evie’s secret drinking abilities. She’d be sure to tell Rick about it someday if he hung around after this.

“What’s this now?” Rick looked highly amused at the idea of the story.

Evie scrunched her nose at Nevi in a teasing manner. “I have no clue what you’re talking about and you ignore her.” She pointed at Rick.

“Of course _you_ don’t. As is the effect of all the alcohol consumed that night.” Nevi teased back. Shaking her head when Johnathan wobbly offered her the bottle. She would have a hard-enough time getting to sleep tonight. There was no need to add a hangover to the morning. She carefully undid the intricate braid that the ladies at the village had done days ago. Since she hadn’t slept on a bed in nights, she hadn’t bothered to undo it yet but unless she wanted a giant dreadlock the next morning, she figured it was about time. She brushed through her long loose hair watching the three before her. Johnathan soon passed out. In response to Evie’s stubbornness Rick had offered to teach her to fight and was currently trying to teach, a quickly turning into drunk, Evie how to hold her wrist when she punched so that she wouldn’t hurt herself.

“Don’t let her get too handsy with you Rick.” Nevi said finishing her new braid and laying down, facing away from the fire. She got a chuckled ‘Night’ from Rick and a ‘hush!’ from Evie.

Nevi expected to be exhausted, having not slept well for nights in a row and having had such an exciting day, she wasn’t though. She tried to ease her thoughts towards sleep but one thing kept cropping up in her mind. It wasn’t Henderson. It wasn’t Burns or Hassan. The attack on their camp or the adorable display of odd flirty behavior happening behind her. It was those amber eyes. Staring at her from the back of a horse as the rider rode away. She finally had a face to put to that mysterious exterior. And what a face. Thinking back, she could remember more details than in the adrenaline driven moment.

Mostly those full lips. Thinking about what they’d feel like against her skin. She’d been so scared when he’d attacked her on the ship but she could still remember the broad expanse of his shoulders, the strength that his muscles held as he pushed her against the wall. Him pushing her against a wall in another connotation… his lips against her neck, her fingers clenching his hair, that powerful body up against her. Reality hit though as it is always bound to do in fun moments. _He attacked you… TWICE! What is wrong with you?_ Besides that, he had warned them to get out or die. _So, this man attacks you, threatens you and your friends with death, and yet here you lay fantasizing about him. You’re just horny. Find a man when you get back to Cairo._

Thinking about his warning made her wonder, was there something to it? This place did feel different from other ruins she’d been to. A force was here for sure. Tomorrow she’d have a talk with Evie, maybe they should leave. Despite herself, she drifted off to sleep with thoughts of strong arms clad in black robes around her, impish Arabic words of love being whispered in her ear.

\--

“ **Well they combined camps**.” Fahim said as he settled himself around their low campfire. His Medjai had made camp behind part of a fallen wall. Within the compound of Hamunaptra but away from where the foreigners were. Ardeth had sent Fahim out with a small band to watch over the outsiders.

“ **Do you think they are actually going to leave tomorrow**?” One of the younger warriors asked.

“ **No**.” Maciej said.

“ **Westerners are arrogant**.” Ardeth said, he remembered being young and thinking people actually listened to threats. “ **They do not believe the old ways. What else did you see Fahim**?” He leant towards his officer and filled his cup with the pomegranate wine they had brought with them.

“ **Not much. The group from the museum moved their camp to be one with the Americans. The diggers look worried but are staying so they must be getting paid well. They have set up no guards or look outs so they must not be worried about our presence or that of others**.” Fahim said through bites of his belated dinner. After a few moments, he added as if as an afterthought, “ **Amir did say something about a fight**?”

“ **A fight**?” Ardeth looked to Amir. Amir was a few years younger than Ardeth, and he was a shadow. He was always the best at making himself unnoticeable, even it seemed, were he right in front of you.

“ **Yes** ,” Amir said after swallowing his bite. “ **The yellow haired man was being very forward with one of the women from the museum group**.”

Ardeth felt a jolt run down his spine and his stomach start to bubble. “ **Which woman**?” He all but snapped at Amir. The mood around the campfire shifted slightly. Ardeth felt more eyes on him then a field report would normally draw. He cleared his throat and tried to look as nonchalant as possible.

Amir merely quirked an eyebrow at him, “ **The taller one. The yellow haired man looked like he was going to try to kiss her and she almost stabbed him in his manhood**.” He finished with a gesture to his groin.

“ **Can you blame him? She has quite a nice rear end.** ” Came Omar’s voice from across the fire. A few others laughed in agreement at his comment.

“ **Have respect**.” Ardeth snapped, fully this time. This elicited murmurs from the group. Ardeth racked his brain on a way to find his way out of that one. How stupid could he be? That was definitely suspicious!

As always though Maciej was there. “ **She is a coworker of Terrance. Treat her with the respect you would give one of us. We are here to watch and detain, kill only if necessary, therefore we will not objectify**.”

_Right, we won’t objectify her_ , Ardeth couldn’t help a little bit of guilt seep into his bones at that. “ **Exactly. Finish eating, we will draw for watch shifts soon**.”

The group of Medjai filtered off their conversations into group of twos and threes. Ardeth focused on his food, hoping that no one would try to talk about how he had acted. But of course, where Maciej saves, he must also tease.

“ **What was that?** ”

Ardeth felt his friend lean closer to keep the conversation between themselves. “ **What was what?** ” he asked, trying, and he knew very much failing, to feign ignorance.

Maciej scoffed and Ardeth could feel the amusement radiating off him. “ **What was what? Ha! If I didn’t know any better Ardeth I would say you like that British girl. The way you practically bit Omar’s head off**.”

“ **I just think we should be respectful to all of Allah’s children. She is a professional at the museum like you said and we sho-** ,” but Maciej cut him off.

“ **Bull**.” He smirked.

Ardeth glanced at him sideways and search for new excuses. Finding none he turned back to his food and tried to ignore his friend.

“ **She does have a nice rear you know**.” Maciej said into his cup. “ **Very grabbable**.”

Ardeth groaned and stood, walking away from his friend. Hearing laughter behind him the whole way back to his tent. Hoping that it wouldn’t be a long night.

It wasn’t.

The sun began peaking over the horizon and Ardeth rubbed his eyes, yawning. He was hunkered down, hidden back in the ruins between where the foreigners had camped and where his Medjai were. He had drawn the last shift for watch, which was good and bad. Good because by this time most of the people in camp were asleep and, once they woke up, the rest of the Medjai would be awake so he really didn’t have to worry about keeping an eye on multiple people in the dark. Good because he didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night then try to go back to sleep after his shift was over. Bad because there was no more hope for any more sleep in his future for the day and he had not found sleep easily last night. His mind too full of thoughts of this Nevina. Of her defiance in staring down what she must have known was a more skilled swordsman to protect whom he was sure was her brother. He admired the way she curved a protective arm around the man. Thoughts of her eyes again and again. Those oasis pools.

Movement caught his attention. Someone was stirring around the fire of Nevina and her companions. He watched a tall form rise, clumsy with sleep, from the camp and glance around. It was Nevina. _Speak of the devil and all that._ He saw her look down at two lumps on the ground who he assumed were her brother and sister, shaking her head. She stretched and looked around the ruins. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for but leaned back getting into a more comfortable position, suddenly very awake, and pulled a pouch of dried fruit out of his provisions pack. Popping some dried apricot into his mouth he watched her.

She knelt back down and emerged with a leather pouch. The one she had pulled all the ruined paper out of at the river bank. Slinging it around her shoulder so it laid cross body she walked over to what was left of the surrounding wall of the city and climbed onto it. As she walked along the line of the wall, she lifted the edge of her skirt and tucked it into the knife belt she had around her waist. Ardeth quirked an eyebrow and smirked at that. He’d never seen a girl do that before. But he understood why she had soon enough. As she came to an incline in the wall that led up to an area of the wall that still stood high enough to overlook almost all the ruins she began to climb. At times having to grab on with her hands. Ardeth leaned forward, carful to not reveal his hiding space, but worried about her falling. It was a risky thing to do, pebbles kept falling from under her feet as she moved them. Tumbling down the ever-higher stone wall. It was not exceedingly stable. The top of the wall she settled herself on being easily 10-15 feet in the air. Maybe not tall enough to die out right but to break some limbs absolutely and medical help was far away out here.

She sat with one leg drawn to the side and pulled a pad and pencil out of the bag she carried with her. He smiled. The paper that he had gotten her, she was using it. Of course, she didn’t know he had gotten it for her, he was sure her opinion of taking the paper would probably change did she know where it had come from. Ardeth wondered what her sketching looked like, what she liked to sketch the most… if she was good? If it was a hobby or did she do it professionally?

Best thing about the last shift of watch Ardeth decided… _getting to watch the pretty one **,** Nevina sit at the top of a crumbling wall sketching as the sun rose high behind her_. He knew that when others began to stir, he would have to go get his brothers but for now he contented himself with leaning against his hidden wall, eating dried apricots and jerky, and watching her.

\--

Nevi could have sworn someone was watching her. The tickle on the back of her neck made her look up and around from time to time as she drew. Nothing was out there though. No one was there watching. _Maybe it’s just the off feeling I get from this place,_ she wondered. _Or maybe it’s an animal out there?_

It was hours before anyone below her stirred. Only when the sun was high enough to not be ignored did people wake and prepare for their day. She saw Rick get up and waved at him, he sleepily shook his hand back in her direction. Wandering off, she was sure to find a place to relieve himself, and she continued sketching. Almost done with her rough outline of the ruined city of Hamunaptra.

“Is that ladylike missy? Having your skirt tucked up for all the world to see your britches.” Rick’s voice drew her eyes down. Seeing him staring up at her smirking she returned the smile.

“My britches?” Nevi laughed at the abrasively American word. “If you can see them, I’d say you’re one lucky bugger.”

He laughed, “Hop on down, I’m making coffee.”

“Ooo, lovely.” Nevi got up carefully. Making her way back down the wall. As she neared the fire that had returned to life, she saw Rick had roused Evie and Johnathan. Both were looking severely hungover.

“Morning you two.” Nevi said softly.

Johnathan groaned and covered his face with his jacket. Evie managed to turn her head, still resting in her hands, and smile at her.

They took a few minutes. Nevi force feeding Johnathan and Evie water, dried fruits, and nuts. Rick made coffee, Nevi and him sat across the fire from the other two and let them recover as best they could.

“So, um-,” Rick cleared his throat louder than Nevi was sure he intended causing the siblings across the fire to both groan and slump over more. “Sorry, sorry,” he quietly motioned to them before turning back to Nevi and lowering his voice, “So last night Evie had been drinking.”

“Yes, no shit.” Nevi interrupted smirking at the look he gave her.

“She’d been drinking but she uh- she told me she was going to kiss me before she um… fell asleep.”

Nevi winced. _Well that’s unfortunate._ “And you’re wondering if she’ll remember?”

Rick’s face dropped, his wide eyes staring at her, telling her that he had not thought of that as a possibility. “Now yes, that is what I’m wondering but uh- before I was wondering if she meant it? Or was she just drunk?”

“Oh Rick,” _How could he not know_. “She meant it.”

“Really?” He looked hopeful.

“Yes. You poor, sweet man. You two are very cute together.” She smiled at the dorky look that had taken over his face. “Maybe we can arrange a little alone time with you two when we find something to excavate today.” She bumped his shoulder. The worries about the night before, about leaving the sight and heeding the warning of death, gone from her mind.

“Well I’d assume we’ll be looking at that mummy all day.” He said grinning like an idiot and stoking the fire.

That caught her attention. “What mummy?”

“The one we found yest- oooo, damn,” He turned back to her the smile gone, excitement in his eyes but an apologetic look across his face. “I guess between Hassan and the raid on camp we forgot to tell you. A sarcophagus fell from the ceiling where we were chiseling yesterday just before Hassan hit that wall.”

*

It had taken another hour before Johnathan and Evie were up and the group was making their way down into the subterranean labyrinth. Both had subdued their hangovers. Evie at the mention of the mummy and Johnathan after Nevi started talking about the wealth of items usually laid to rest with a mummy.

Rick and Johnathan had gotten the outer sarcophagus open and the inner one propped against the wall. Evie fluttered around them like a hyper hummingbird, the whole-time spewing information about ancient Egypt. Nevi sat on the lid of the outer sarcophagus sketching its details. She’d just scooted down to sketch the center part of the lid when a hieroglyph caught her eye, one she’d only seen once before.

It was the one she had been trying to translate when Evie played dominos with the library shelves. A large sun over two mountains with squiggly ray lines and, what Nevi thought to be, an ill-promising overarching eye above the whole thing. This eye stared at her, knowing she knew it and all but saying that it knew her in return. Nevi caressed the mark. A tingle of electricity jolted through her arm, making her jump. At the same time visions flashed in front of her. Long white stone hallways. Indoor pools filled with scented water, incense smoke filling the air, and a man’s deep voice telling her to scream if she got attacked. Nevi yanked her hand back and looked up at the others. No one seemed fazed. No one was looking at her. _Maybe it’s the heat… I need to drink more water._ She threw her sketch pad to the side for now, having had enough of the Glyphs before her and went to stand between Johnathan and Evie just as Rick asked, “You ready?”

Evie jumped in place and clapped her hands together, “Oh, I’ve dreamed about this since I was a little girl.”

Her excitement made the telltale itch of a good discovery start coursing in Nevi’s chest and, trying to forget the odd memories that the hieroglyphs had stirred, she grabbed Evie’s arm, jumping with her a little as Rick looked at them concerned, “You dream about dead guys?”

Her excitement was short lived though as Nevi looked down from the face area of the coffin to the part more at the person’s chest. “Look, the sacred spells have been chiseled off.” Nevi let her hand graze the marked-up stone. Dread filling her and the voice of Dr. Bey back at the museum filling her ears, speaking of curses and warnings of danger. Then the riders voice last night telling them they had one day, one day to get out of the ruins or else. Suddenly all her worries from last night flooded back to her.

Evie, as always, looked at the scratched off marks with a clinical scientific fascination. “This man must have been condemned not only in this life but in the next.”

“Tough break.” said Rick flatly.

“Maybe we should leave it alone then.” Nevi said.

“No. Are you insane?” Evie looked at her shocked. “This is the first mummy that I’ve actually discovered and not just catalogued for the museum. I want to see him.”

“Yes, but all the talk about curses and then this.” Nevi pointed to the sacred spells being gone. “You may think it’s all fairytales but the ancient Egyptians took these things seriously. And those riders last night told us to get out.”

“They are fairytales. Curses don’t actually exist.” Evie shook her head and patted Nevi’s hand that rested in the crook of her elbow.

“Fine.” Nevi rolled her eyes and shrugged. Knowing she wasn’t going to get Evie away from this place without seeing this mummy.

“Ok,” said Rick as he and Johnathan braced themselves to open the lid. “Let’s see who’s inside, shall we?”

The two men tugged and pulled at the lid before it all but flew off with a god-awful squelch, flying off towards the girls. Causing them to both scream and scramble back to avoid getting hit. Nevi grabbed her heart and Evie stomped her foot, “Oh, my God. I hate it when these things do that.”

Rick and Johnathan were barely paying her any attention. Both looking at the mummy, inches from it. “Is he supposed to look like that?”

Nevi looked up to see not a mummy but a gooey, rotting corpse. As she stepped closer the stench of decaying flesh hit her nose, making her gag a little and cover her face with her headscarf. Black sludge still clung to the man’s bones and fibers of old tendons held at his joints.

“No, I’ve never seen a mummy look like this before.” Nevi said through her scarf.

“He’s still-still,” Evie’s mouth gapped open and shut searching for a word.

Rick and Johnathan found it. “Juicy.”

“Yes,” Evie breathed. “He must be more than 3,000 years old… and, well, it looks as if he’s still… decomposing.” She sounded disgusted yet rivetted.

While Nevi was filled with anxiety. “That’s not scientifically possible.” She said quietly, removing the scarf from her face.

“Perhaps the conditions were just right in the sarcophagus… sealed extra tight?” Evie started moving towards the corpse but Rick’s voice called their attention behind them.

“Hey, look at that.” He was crouched at the lid of the coffin. It had fallen with the outside to the ground and the inside bared upwards for the light of their torches to catch. It was full of marks. “What do you make of this?”

Evie crouched next to him and ran her fingers down the lines that had been etched into the stone. They fit perfectly. “My God, these marks were made with… fingernails.” When she raised her head, her eyes were finally filled with fear. “This man was buried alive.”

Nevi looked down at the inside of the lid. A small inscription at the top right caught her eye. “And he left a message. ‘Death is only the beginning’.” She translated. “We should have left him.”

The whole group looked up at the corpse horrified. _Who the hell was this man?_

*

It was nightfall by the time Nevi got out of the tombs. The cool wind hitting her face was refreshing. Anxiety melted out of her shoulders a bit from finally being out of the depths of the city. Evie had convinced her to stay down there with her and the mummy. Even she didn’t want to be alone with it. Johnathan and Rick went on the hunt for anything that would hint at where all the ‘wealth of ancient Egypt’ was stashed. They found nothing. So, Nevi had spent a tense day sitting as far from the mummy as she could. Sketching it. Sketching the hieroglyphs around the room. She asked Evie if she’d ever seen the hieroglyph of the sun, mountains, and eye but Evie hadn’t.

They had found something dubious though. Evie had begged and pleaded with Nevi to help her search the coffin. Making the case that if two sets of hands were searching then it would take less than half the time to do so, meaning time right next to a decomposing corpse would be lessened. Nevi let her know that she now owed her one, big time. During their search they found fossilized exoskeletons of scarab beetles. Not the run of the mill kind, but the larger flesh-eating ones. Ones thankfully that have been extinct for thousands of years.

Nevi looked around at the sound of Evie scrambling out of the tomb behind her. Impeded a bit by the hand full of skeletons still in her hands. Nevi took one and fiddled with it as they walked. They had to go through the Americans camp to get to theirs. Nevi was pleasantly surprised when Henderson walked out of his tent, caught sight of her, and promptly went back inside. Burns was walking past them a few seconds later and Nevi made sure to give him a smile. He responded with a small smile and the sort of nod that she’d always attributed to those American cowboys. _How very dashing_. One of the last tents that they walked past was Chamberlin’s.

He was wrenching at a book. Black and covered in hieroglyphs, it had a similar lock shape as the sarcophagus that had enclosed their gooey mummy. Evie stopped for a beat in front of him. “I believe you need a key to open that book.”

The two girls started walking again. Nevi could practically feel Evie’s plan radiating off her. “You leave that book alone.”

“I have not a clue what you are talking about.” Evie said innocently.

Nevi laughed, “The hell you don’t. No stealing books that aren’t yours missy.”

Evie stuck her tongue out at Nevi. “I would never.”

As they neared their fire, Nevi saw Rick and Johnathan sitting on a stone with Beni between them. Somehow the Americans had beat them to the fire. They sat across the fire, showing off the canopic jars they had found that day. Once Rick saw the girls approaching Nevi saw him turn to Beni, “You’re in her seat.” Beni laughed but Rick snapped, “Now!” and the slimy man moved quickly away.

The girls separated. Evie going to sit between Rick and Johnathan in the recently vacated spot. Nevi sitting on the other side of Johnathan, settling onto a broken pillar that had been smoothed and reduced over time to a short height.

“Look what we found in our friend’s coffin.” Evie said excitedly, holding out the skeletons so everyone around the fire could see them. “Scarab skeletons. Flesh eaters.”

“Flesh eaters?” Henderson asked warily.

Nevi had decided to at least be civil to the ape. It would make sharing a camp for another few days easier, though she was going to have a knife on her at all times now. “Yes, they can stay alive for years feasting on the flesh of a corpse.” She told him in an attempt at a spooky voice. It worked because he along with the other two Americans paled and gulped. “They’re extinct now.” She added, though that didn’t improve their horrified expressions.

“Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him.” Evie said plainly.

“So, somebody threw these in with our guy, and then they slowly ate him alive?” Rick asked her, disturbed.

Evie got a dorky smirk on her face and leaned into him, flirtatiously. “Very slowly.” _Only she would think that good flirting… and only he would respond to it like it was,_ Nevi thought.

“He certainly wasn’t a popular fellow when they planted him.” Johnathan shook his head in sympathy for the man.

“Well, he probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh’s daughter.” Rick waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Everyone chuckled.

“Or the pharaoh’s wife.” Nevi countered, everyone laughed again and she got a good-point gesture from Rick.

“Well according to my readings,” Evie continued. “Our friend suffered the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved only for the most evil of blasphemers.”

“That bad, huh?” Rick asked.

Nevi scrunched her face up, looking at Evie doubtfully, “No way. It’s never been recorded to have actually been subjected on someone.”

“It’s the only one that fits though.” Evie said.

“What’s the Hom-Dai?” Burns asked.

“Well, they never used it because they feared it so. It’s written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise, he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt.” Evie said impressively.

“Why would an Egyptian curse bring something from the Hebrew Bible?” Daniels asked.

“Well the plagues were recorded to have actually occurred,” Nevi offered. “And they devastated the Egyptian economy and people for years. It stands to reason that it would still be something to spark fear in them.”

“Seems strange to give someone you hate so much power.” Johnathan mused.

“Yes, it wasn’t one of the better thought out curses in history.” Nevi joked with him.

The group spent the night around the fire. Swapping stories about other curses they’d heard about, places then been to, etc. Slowly, one by one, the group dwindled. The Americans going back to their camp. Johnathan laid down. Soon after Rick decided to join him. Though Nevi had the feeling he wasn’t actually asleep. Like her, she had the sense he was waiting to see if the riders would indeed come back and attack the camp again. Evie seemed too jacked up on excitement to sleep.

Nevi was doodling in her sketch pad, Arabic phrases tattooed against copper skin, when Evie suddenly ran into her peripherals. Nevi hadn’t even realized she’d snuck away. But here she was with the black book Chamberlin had been mucking about with earlier clutched in her hands.

Before she could say anything, Rick’s voice sounded from the spot on a stone where he lounged, pretending to sleep. “That’s called stealing, you know.”

Evie didn’t even look back at him. Just started searching for the key amongst Johnathan’s belongings. “According to you and my brother… it’s called borrowing.”

Rick crouched down next to her. “I thought the Book of Amun-Ra was made out of gold.”

“It is made out of gold. This isn’t the Book of Amun-Ra. This is something else.” The eagerness in her voice causing Nevi to crawl over to kneel next to her like Rick. “I think this may be the Book of the Dead.”

“Book of the Dead?” Rick mouthed. Unease written across his face.

“Evie, I don’t think you should be messing around with this.” Nevi warned.

“It’s just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book.” She had finally gotten the book unlocked. Tenderly opening the cover. Despite herself, Nevi leaned in, curious to see what was in it. Warnings about curses and dangers drumming in the back of her mind quelled down by pure childlike wonder.

As Evie opened the book though a wind swept through camp, causing the fire to jump around and almost blow out. “That happens a lot around here.” Nevi mused.

“So, what’s it say?” Rick asked leaning closer.

“Amun Ra. Amun Dei-,” Evie began.

“Don’t read it aloud.” Nevi snapped at her.

“Hush. – it speaks of the night and of the day.” As Evie continued to read the ancient words an odd swirling feeling surrounded Nevi. _We should not be doing this._

“No! You mustn’t read from the book!” Chamberlin’s shout made them all jump and spin around. He had half ran towards them but stopped and was staring transfixed off into the desert.

Johnathan sprang awake and together all four of them stood to see a wave of locust buzzing towards them like an insect title wave.

“Run!” Rick shouted and the camp descended into mayhem. Nevi could see the Americans before them as she ran after Rick and Evie into the tunnels of the tomb, dragging Johnathan behind her as they went.

At some point they lost the Americans and her group found themselves alone in a hallway. Rick began to lead them down but out of nowhere the ground began to shake violently.

“Earthquakes don’t happen in Egypt.” Nevi hollered, trying to stay up right. Down the hall from them the earth started to mound up like a little mountain was forming before their eyes. In seconds the hill burst and from it came streaming a fountain of beetles.

“Scarabs!” Evie shouted.

Nevi, still having a hold on Johnathan turned to run, but found Evie looking horrified in the direction of the scarabs. “Run, Evie!” She shouted and pushed her sister to move, dragging her brother behind her.

Nevi heard Rick shooting and shouting behind them. “Go, go, go! Run!” At some point Johnathan’s hand slipped from hers.

They ran up a ramp and Nevi followed Evie, jumping into a little outcropping in the stone wall. While the boys jumped onto a broken pillar to get away from the beetles. Nevi could feel Evie’s frantic breath panting against her skin and the grip that Evie had on her shoulder Nevi was sure would leave a bruise but at the moment she couldn’t care less. They had got away from the scarabs at least.

Behind her Evie left out a gasp and suddenly the ground was no longer underneath Nevi’s feet. She felt Evie’s grip on her shoulder be torn away as she tumble-rolled down a stone decline. Ass over bloody tea kettle for what felt like millennia, arms wrapped around her head protectively. Hitting the ground face down, sand puffed up into her lungs, causing her to cough and look around.

She was alone.

“Evie?” Nevi whispered into the gloom. With no torch it was near impossible to see in the darkness. “Evie.” It came as a whine now.

Clumsily she stood, feeling around her belt for any kind of weapon. Finding only the one Rick had leant her. The two she took from the fallen rider sitting up in camp, in her drawing satchel. She tucked her skirt into her belt where the knife had been. Blind in the dark Nevi felt her way along the stone wall. Ears hyper aware of any noise made. The silence of the tunnels almost deafening with the adrenaline pumping like mad through her body. Unexpectedly there was a yell from her right. A woman’s yell. “Evie!”

Nevi fumbled across the hall to find the other wall and felt her way up it, going quicker than before, and shuffling her feet to make sure she didn’t trip on anything. Another yell, this one froze her in her tracks for a moment. It sounded wholly unholy. Unhuman. Her spine felt like it seized up on itself and her internal organs dropped out of her. Then a third scream, a man’s, hit her ears quickly followed by a gun shot. And she moved again. The end of the tunnel brought her to an intersection but there was light to her right. Moon light hitting her eyes and illuminating the scene before her. What looked like Burns was shaking on the ground, trying to crawl away from… It. The corpse of their mummy was there- moving. Spasming around on the ground but still very movey for a 3,000-year-old corpse. Nevi felt her knees quake, threatening to drop her.

“Did you see that?! It was moving!” Johnathan’s voice echoed down one of the hallways in front of her. _No time to freak out you have to get out of here._

“ Ap eeeeph.” The sound was sickening to her ears. The pain in it. Nevi looked down to see that Burns was crawling away from It. And by the sounds of it he was severely injured.

Leave him. _I can’t do that._ Leave him! _I can’t he’s injured._ Well do something while the thing is still distracted!

Re-sheathing her knife, Nevi raced forward and grabbed Burns arm, trying to drag the man away, but he was too heavy for her and it was slow going. Nevi had to move Burns over a pile of rubble, there was no way she could maneuver him around. He was almost over, garbled words still trying to form in his mouth, until he let out a moan. He had stuck and the sound that issued from him echoed around the small room like thunder. Nevi’s head jerked up, frantic eyes searching for It. Whatever had affected the mummy had apparently worn off. It was now straightening up and with a jerk of its head looking right at her.

Nevi felt true, unadulterated fear grip her heart. Breathe hyperventilating. “No, no, no, no, no.” She grunted tugging at Burns with all her strength. The mummy strode towards her, totally unhindered by its lack of muscle. Quickly closing the distance between them. “Shit!” With all the strength her arms possessed she yanked backwards, thinking she had to have dislocated Burns’ shoulder.

Whatever he’d caught on released him.

But the mummy was upon them.

Dropping Burns, Nevi stumbled away. The stench of rotting flesh once again fully assaulting her nose. That was the least of her concerns though. His skeletal hand reached towards her, small pieces of skin and muscle hanging grotesquely from his bone. His eyes stared down at her, unblinking. Burns’ eyes.

Nevi’s mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. Her hands fumbling behind her trying to find the wall to know which way to run but nothing came. Instead she was backing herself into darkness. She did not want to be chased by a reanimated mummy down a dark labyrinth of tunnels. Nevi groped at her belt pulling Rick’s knife.

Summoning courage from some deep fictional recess of her soul she jolted one step towards the mummy, thrusting up with her knife.

It hit where the mummy’s heart would’ve been… _but they take out the heart during mummification._ Nevi laughed humorlessly, “Yea because why would that have worked? You’re a walking corpse.” _Think, think, think._

The mummy opened his mouth spoke. Ancient Egyptian hitting her ears but standing no chance of getting translated through her brain at the moment. The mummies hand almost on her. Nevi had just decided to make a run for it when the mummies shoulder with her knife in it flew back. It flew back again. And again.

_Fuck this!_ Nevi turned to book it down the passage but collided with what she assumed was the wall. She should have been falling but the wall was… holding her? A warm weight had appeared around her waist. Nevi looked up into dark amber stars, gold flecks reflecting torchlight. He shouted orders at his men and Nevi heard the moans and groans that were all Burns could now vocalize. Without warning Nevi’s feet left the ground and she was being carrired by her waist rapidly up the passage. The sound of many feet and a body being dragged echoing behind.

Snapping out of her shock at the return of the rider but adrenaline screaming at her to fight, Nevi pushed against his arm around her waist. Struggling until he dropped her back to her feet. The glare he shot her sending a bolt of anxiety down her spine. Nevi clenched her jaw and firmed her back; she was not going to let some ass intimidate her even if he did have incredible muscles, lips that looked softer than anything, and was tall enough that she wanted to climb him like a tree… _no, no, no, get your shit together woman!_ “What the hell?!” _Really? That’s what you come up with?_

His brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“What is that?”

If she thought his glare was bad, all his attention full of anger turning her way, was something else. His shoulders squaring up to hers was so. much. worse. Nevi gulped and leaned away from him but didn’t dare put any more distance between them. Trying to hold her ground. Forcing herself to keep eye contact. She would not be manhandled. Whilst, terribly aware of the fact that he had weapons and she had nothing. “That.” He said, in that dreamy accent, pointing behind them for emphasis. “Is the reason we warned you to leave. Now we must go.” He went to grab her again.

She swatted his head away like she was his mum and he was a kid reaching for a cookie that would spoil his dinner. “I can walk on my own. Thank you.” And started off down the passage.

Nevi followed the rider and his men down a couple more halls before they exited the temple into moonlight. A couple of the black clad men waiting there with Chamberlin on his knees, clutching the Book of the Dead like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Voices echoed to their right and everyone turned their attention to another doorway, just as Rick, Evie, Johnathan and the Americans flew out.

“Nevi!” Johnathan and Evie yelled as they saw her. She ran up to them and was immediately wrapped up in hugs. Her face buried in Evie’s hair.

“I told you to leave or die. You refused.” The rider’s voice pulled them from their reunion. Nevi stood between Evie and Johnathan looking back at the men who had saved her life. “Now you may have killed us all for you have unleashed a creature we have feared for more than 3000 years.”

“Relax,” Rick scoffed, taking his shotgun off the man. “I got him.”

“No mortal weapon can kill this creature. He is not of this world.” At that he stood aside and the men who had dragged Burns out of the temple deposited him in front of his friends.

“You bastards!” Henderson fell to his knees and held at his friend.

Hovering over them, Daniels cried, “What did you do to him?”

“We saved him,” the rider shot back. “Saved him before the creature could finish his work.”

“He’s telling the truth.” Nevi’s voice sounded like gravel.

“Leave,” the rider looked right in her eyes. “All of you, quickly before he finishes you.” He turned to address his men. “Yallah. Nimshi.” As he followed them into the door that Evie and the others had come out of, he said, “We must now go on the hunt and try to find a way to kill him.”

“I already told you I got him.” Rick snapped. It was like he was trying to win a pissing contest.

The rider stopped. His glare back directed at Rick. “Know this. This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, he will never stop.”

It could barely be said that they packed camp. They grabbed food, water, and any personal effects that were too precious to leave behind. Everything else was left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to any Henderson fans. I don't hate him by any means he just always came off as a player to me so I decided to make him be a bit of an ass haha. Oh! And if you know of any good Arabic or Egyptian names please tell me them. I'm going to need more eventually for when we meet more Medjai and while a Google search can get you a lot I feel like the one's I find are super common and not everyone in a community has the most common names ya know?
> 
> Lemme know what you think :D


	8. Chapter 4.5

In the days after Ammon caught her sneaking out of the palace, Nenet could feel something change in the way they were around each other. Something was more comfortable in how they moved around one another.S He’d kept his words and hadn’t told a soul. Instead of annoyance at his constantly being there, she found herself looking forward to it. Engineering ways that they would find themselves alone together. In the temple. In the study room full of scrolls. In the palace garden on walks. She spine still quavered when he said her name and a tightening would form in her stomach when she said his. Nenet liked talking with him. He was a sweet man. He was funny. Loyal. Clever. Beautiful to look at.

She was sure that at times she had caught him staring. It made her heart jump in her chest to think that there just even the possibility that he would look at her with any kind of want in his eyes. There was one time in particular that she was sure he’d been staring at her. And not entirely in the ‘body guard’ way that he was supposed to. She had been making him help her gather herbs from the store cupboards. He was making fun of her for climbing onto the tall shelves herself and not getting one of the lower priestesses to do it. She had turned to chastise him, that her two arms worked perfectly fine thank you very much, when she saw where his eyes were. In his arms bundles of herbs and a few jars of oils were held but his eyes had been on her… ass? Her waist? Somewhere around there. His eyes were hooded and the expression on his face hadn’t matched the playful tone of his voice. When he’d realized she was looking at him, his eyes had darted up to hers then to the other side of the room. He avoided her gaze for hours after that. She found herself cursing the protocol of class. It wasn’t expressly stated that Medjai and priests couldn’t have relations or marry but it was against the class norm. Usually Medjai married within the servant class that served the nobility, they needed permission to marry. While priests could have relations, it was unusual for them to marry, they were married to the Gods. But Nenet felt deep in her body that were it not actively frowned upon; she would try to flirt with Ammon. As it was, she caught herself many times doing it without thinking, as if on instinct, before remembering that they couldn’t be. It made her feel better about it to imagine that, at times, he flirted with her as well.

It was a month after being appointed Keeper of the Library of the Sphinx that Nenet had gone to Pharaoh and confidently told him that marriage to Anck-su-namun would be a match the universe could stand behind. She made sure to tell him the struggles she’d had reading into the future of the match but he had joyously dismissed this addendum and hugged her. Surprising bother her and Ammon, whose eyes she’d caught as Pharaoh had spun her around, it was adorable the way his eyebrows had shot into his headpiece in shock. Mouthing to her, “Is he allowed to do that?”

Now a month after that, with all the arrangements finally in place and the party planned, Pharaoh was ready to announce officially the future marriage to Anck-su-namun. Nenet was walking to the festivities with Ammon at her side, in her finest priestess robe’s and jewels. A slinky, gold number that showed more skin then Nenet liked but coupled with gold body paint gave off the illusion that she was literally a star fallen from the heavens. Her wig tonight an extremely long one that ended just where he butt began and moved like a curtain of black water when she moved her head. Her and Imhotep were always expected to look as otherworldly as possible at social functions being the High Priest and Priestess. Just as Pharaoh was expected to look as commanding as possible being a true god among men. And he did. Nenet could see him through the large entrance into the throne room, where the party was being held. He stood near the entrance with a slim, beautiful woman to his side, talking to a man clad in lustrous robes of linen, gold, and foreign silks. As they neared Pharaoh caught sight of them and motioned for Nenet to come closer. Ammon slipping skillfully behind her as was proper in formal company. She felt her body language stiffen due to it. He was not below her; he shouldn’t have to stand behind her.

“My guests may I introduce the priestess that confirmed this match with the Gods, High Priestess Nenet.” Pharaoh gestured with wide arms at Nenet as she approached the small group. She inclined her head in a formal bow, smiling politely at the three. “Dear Nenet, let me introduce Anck-su-namun, my future wife.” Pharaoh held out his hand to the woman at his side. She was beautiful up close as well. The two women exchanged polite and delicate bows the head, “And her brother, Upton.” _Ah, a merchant, explains the robes._ Nenet turned to the man who was with them, seeing his face clearly for the first time and smiled genuinely at him. He was handsome, with a kind face and had charming smile that he sent her way. Giving her a bowed head but unlike his sister keeping his eyes fixed on her face, searching over her features like he’d found something he’d lost and was inspecting it for damage.

“Pleased to meet you both.” Nenet said. “Hope you are finding the palace to your liking.”

“What is not to like.” Anck-su-namun said in the proper politeness of palace life. _She’s a pro already._ But Pharaoh smiled

Seeing something from across the room he turned to Nenet, “And there is High Priest Imhotep. I must go introduce him to Anck-su-namun. Can I trust in you to entertain my guest?” He asked gesturing to Upton.

“Naturally Pharaoh.”

She would play her part as expected; it was just easier. Turning to Upton she saw he was beaming. “I’m sure we will have a lovely time.” Pharaoh and Anck-su-namun strolled off to meet Imhotep. “I must thank you High Priestess for approving the marriage between my sister and Pharaoh.”

“Please, priestess is fine.” She figured a little less formality would endear the man just a little and finding conversation later would be easier. “And there is no need to thank me. The Gods spoke and it came away approving.”

He chuckled a bit and nodded, “Well I thank you anyway, priestess.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Shall we go get some refreshments?”

Nenet nodded slightly, still keeping the polite smile on her face, and let him place a hand hovering over the small of her back to guide her farther into the room and towards the servants and slaves that held trays of palm wine from kingdoms to the south, grape wine from Greece, Egyptian beer, and a plethora of treats and sweets.

Upton faltered, glancing behind her, “Can we get some privacy please.”

Nenet turned to see he was talking to Ammon. Her Medjai caught her eye and she grimaced as that Upton couldn’t see her. Ammon’s face tightened but he gave a single nod to Upton and moved to stand on the perimeter of the room with other Medjai. Keeping her in sight but now farther away then he’d been since he was assigned to watch her. Nenet felt a slight unease going through her at the thought. She glanced to the side of the room where Ammon had gone and saw him standing stiff backed and tight faced, scanning the room, but not looking towards her. _Because I’m looking at him_.

She turned back to see a cup of Greek wine held in front of her face, with Upton smiling behind it. “Priestess?” It was worded as a question but there was no real query there.

Nenet shook her head, “No thank you. I don’t really drink.” Which was true. She liked to keep her head clear. One could so easily step into trouble in the palace.

“Nonsense!” He thrust the cup in her hands and smiled down at her. “It’s a party.”

She felt her smile falter ever so slightly but took a polite sip. Trying to swallow the liquid before it had time to register on her tongue. She failed, but thankfully Upton was looking around the room talking about the finery of the space, and didn’t see her expression of disgust. She glanced down into the cup. _How can people drink this vile mix?_ She missed the look that Ammon shot her from across the room. A dry humorless laugh escaping his lips.

Nenet and Upton spent most of the party together. Only parting ways, the few times Nenet tried to slip away on the pretext of meeting with other nobles she hadn’t seen in a while. Upton always managed to find her again though. It wasn’t that he was bad company really. He was nice enough but could be a little rude to the servants and definitely had the air about him of someone raised with money. Nenet laughed politely at his jokes and smiled that formal, fake smile as she was expected to, but found her mind wandering to Ammon. Currently he was about 20 feet away surveying the area for trouble with the rest of the Medjai, but any other night at this time they would be in the study room. Surrounded by scrolls telling of epic adventures, complex magic rituals, far off lands that ancient travelers had discovered. Nenet sitting in the window reading aloud on the excuse that it helped her understand better but both of them knowing it was so Ammon could be entertained too and not just standing there for hours. She smiled a real smile at the memories. He still hadn’t met her gaze since Upton had asked for privacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you like the flashback scenes. I wanted to keep them short because they're mostly to inform for later parts of the story but sometimes I feel like I'm rushing them... then again life back then was short so I guess if you wanted something you had to go for it?


	9. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little bit more steamy in this one ;) though it is shorter then the other chapters so far

It took four days to make it back to Cairo. They passed in a haze for Nevi, she barely remembered anything about them, rarely eating and not finding more than a couple hours sleep every night. The incident with the mummy setting in late. It was as they rode through the gates of the British Fort in Cairo that the full fact weighed on her. She could have died. Was everyone on earth in jeopardy from It? It… a moving, alive mummy. There was a true reanimated mummy roaming the earth. That could happen. That was _actually_ a thing that could happen. He had saved her and… she had hit him for it. _Real nice Nevina. Real smooth._

Now she sat in the corner of Evie’s bedroom in her apartment she rented in the Fort. Feeling like she was watching a tennis match. Unmoving, arms crossed over her chest, eyes bouncing back and forth. Rick and Evie were having a hell of a go.

“I thought you said you didn’t believe in that fairy tale and hokum stuff.” Rick said as he dumped an arm full of her clothes into a trunk.

“H-having an encounter with a 3,000-year-old walking, talking corpse does tend to convert one.” Evie pulled all her things out of the trunk. And so, it went.

“Forget it. We’re out the door, down the hall, and we’re gone.”

“Oh, no, we are not!”

“Oh, yes, we are!”

“Oh no we are not. We woke him up and we are going to stop him.” Nevi winced as Evie slammed to lid of the trunk down on Rick’s fingers.

He shook out his hands. “We? What we? We didn’t read that book. I told you not to play around with that thing! Didn’t I tell her?” Rick shouted at Nevi.

“Technically I told her.” Nevi mumbled but was ignored.

“Yes, then me, me, me, I, I, I, I woke him up and I intend to stop him.”

Nevi huffed and stood up. Let them sort that shit out. She walked past Johnathan who was sitting in a chair in the living room, looking shell shocked.

“Evie staying?” He asked.

“Of course.” Nevi replied.

Johnathan sighed and put his head in his hands. “That means we have to stay.” He whined

“Yep.” Nevi popped the P at the end. “I’m going to take a bath ok? Get all this sand off me. Don’t let them kill each other.” She said pointing to the room where arguing could clearly be heard. “I want nieces and nephews eventually.”

Nevi grabbed her carpet bag off the piano bench and, hearing the yells from Evie’s room get louder, escaped into the bathroom. The apartment Nevi rented in Cairo wasn’t in the Fort but since it was a few blocks away, she made Johnathan take her by so she could grab fresh clothes. It was an innate need for her now to bathe. The days of sand and dirt and sweat and fear had encrusted her in a thick cocoon of ick. Evie’s bathroom was small but for Cairo, luxurious. It had running water and a claw foot tub in front of a nice big window. Nevi popped the window open as it was evening and not dead hot. A calming breeze played at the open curtains, hit her face and she inhaled the scent of Cairo. Spices and sun and salt water. _Perhaps it’d be ok… maybe the mummy was just a bad, very vivid hallucination from lack of water and sleep._ As the bath was filling with hot water, she combed through Evie’s bath soaps and salts. Deciding on some lemon bubble bath and eucalyptus Epsom salts.

She shed all her clothes and shoved them on Evie’s already overflowing dirty laundry basket. She’d get them back from her eventually. Hopefully after they’d already been washed. She stood in front of the mirror, nude as a newborn baby, the breeze from the window playing across her skin and the last remains of the day’s sunlight cascading in. Nevi closed her eyes and grasped her neck on either side, rotating her head trying to stretch out her tense muscles. Half opening her eyes, Nevi stared at herself in the mirror. An impish comfort came over her. She really did love being naked. Never had she felt inhibited by lack of clothes. Well… except that one time. Memories of dark amber eyes surveying her in just her undergarments came flooding back to her. Just remembering it her stomach tightened and a dull ach began in a deeper, overtly feminine place. Her heart raced a little at it. He’d made her feel more naked then, then any man she’d actually been naked for had. Yet it was thrilling. Just from him being near her, not even from him touching her, every nerve ending in her body was on red alert. Sensitive and waiting. He made her so nervous, so much like the dainty, proper, virginal English lady she was supposed to be. Nevi could only guess that’s what most appropriate ladies felt like when confronted by sexual matters. She pulled her hands down to her breasts and massaged them. Her nipples erect already from the breeze but thinking of his hands on them the flesh tingled. Nevi frowned; she hadn’t gotten a clear view of his hands yet, not really. Oh, but they had to be amazing. Letting her hands fall from her breasts and caress down the small of her waist into the wide flare out that made up her hips, she sighed. A familiar slick feeling between her legs. _Must be all that adrenaline coursing through her body, something has to be done with it._

Somewhere outside the room a door slammed, making Nevi jump out of her reverie somewhat. Stomping footsteps traced down the apartment and then another door slam. Nevi took the two steps to the door to lock it then turned back to the tub. Shutting the water off she slowly sank down into the water. Resting her arms on the side of the tub she leaned her head back, feeling the layers of dirt fall away from her. Nevi laid there for a while. Wishing slightly that she had a record player with her.

Slowly though the idea of dark amber eyes flecked with gold that caught the sunlight wormed their way back into her mind. _I wonder what his smile is like,_ with those full lips, stunning.

_Have some self-respect! The man tried to kill you twice… except it could have been tried twice and let me live once._ Her eyes opened and she zoned out staring at the corner of the room. Swirling the water with her fingertips, thinking about the encounter with the mummy. Trying to draw her mind away from the actual problem of a reanimated mummy and focus on the much more trivial but comforting distraction of a relationship between two properly alive humans. _He did save me._ And that arm that had encircled her waist had definitely been something to write home about.

She let her imagination take her away. Now she was leaning back against a solid chest. Coarse, curly chest hair tickling her back. The soft black curls hanging over her shoulder as his full lips trailed gentle kisses on her head and along her neck. Nevi’s hand going up and winding through the back of his hair, encouraging him to continue. Maybe a small giggle escaping her when his beard found a sensitive spot. He would tease her slightly for being so easily affected. _If only I knew how he laughed._ She would contently sigh back into his embrace, strong arms hugging her to his chest, as powerful hands grazed down her body finding the folds between her legs… against the small of her back she’d be able to feel his manhood. Thick and long, semi-erect at their contact.

Nevi let herself sink down to her chin in the water. Her hand going to the folds between her legs, rubbing between them, before finding her clit and rubbing small circles on the delicate nerve bundle. It was a testament to her imagination she was sure that she could be so ready and so wet from just fantasizing about him here with her. Just from thinking about him her need had built quickly, begging for release. It didn’t take more than a handful of strokes and massaging her breasts before Nevi’s muscles tensed up on her. Little jolts of electricity jumped from nerve ending to nerve ending, bringing with them that liberation she so craved.

Nevi breathed into the acute relaxation of her muscles. Slowly opening her eyes and blushing at herself. She had just pleasured her body to the _idea_ of a man she didn’t know. Not to mention she didn’t know who was on the other side of that door. Pulling herself back out of the water, she wiped her mouth, smiling despite herself. _What’s a little harmless fun? It’s not like you’re going to see him again nor like you made any noise._ She finished up her bathe quickly after that. Not wanting to take up an unusual amount of time bathing, lest anyone get suspicious. Washing her body with the remains of bubble bath and borrowed some of Evie’s rosemary vinegar to rinse her hair through with.

Unstopping the drain Nevi rose from the bath and toweled off. Throwing her hair up into the towel so she could get dressed without the hindrance of her waist length hair getting in the way. She put on a fresh set of chemise and bloomers, before donning a pair of her wide legged linen trousers and a forest green silk blouse. The calming effect of the bubble bath wearing off and leaving in it’s wake a tornado of thoughts swirling in her mind. How were they going to stop a reanimated 3,000-year-old mummy who had superpowers, control over the ten plagues of Egypt, and that no weapon known to man could kill?

Nevi could feel the numb daze start to overtake her again. Her eyes unblinking and glazed over as she dressed herself. _One thing at a time lady. Just rinse the tub then go from there._ Nevi turned back to the tub. A film of soap suds and scented oils covered the bottom. She turned the faucet on and began to splash the water around the porcelain to clean it, but something was wrong.

Instead of the clear water, what ran from her fingers was thick and red. She wrenched the tap off, staring at her hand. Holding it up in front of her and spreading her fingers apart, she watched as the thick liquid webbed between her fingers before falling in plops into the tub. _Blood._ The deep booming voice of her old school chaplain rang through her ears.

‘By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hands I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water’

_He's here._ How she knew that it meant the mummy had arrived she didn’t know but the thought was 100% certain in her mind. The thought made Nevi’s blood bump painfully in her veins. _I must get Evie out!_ On their way to the Fort she had been informed of the mummy’s apparent liking to Evie. Something about it didn’t bode well in Nevi’s bones. Grabbing the nearest towel, she violently wiped her hand off.

Throwing open the bathroom door she called around the small apartment, “Evie. Evie!” Nevi could see the entire living and kitchen areas from her spot. Walking forward to the bedroom door she stared at the upheaved room. Clearly Evie hadn’t bothered to put anything away after Rick’s attempt at packing her things but, “Of course you aren’t here!” Nevi threw her hands in the air. “Why would you be here, with a homicidal walking corpse after you?”

A scream echoed its way up from somewhere beneath her feet. After days of being around these people and screaming being a big part of the game, Nevi knew that voice. Burns. Tearing from the room she ran down the hall and jumped the stairs two at a time. A weight hit her on her left and she felt the floor growing closer. But a yank at her wrist had her righted with a call of, “Oh, Nevi thank god!”

Evie hugged her and Rick dropped her hand. “Did you lot hear that scream?” Nevi asked.

The group looked to Burns’ door. Rick took the lead, kicking open the doors, the sight that met them was gruesome. Burns mummified body lay crumpled in the center of the seating area. Before their eyes the mummy’s body grew more skin and tissue, bandages morphing into muscle membranes and winding their way around the chest and arms. The mummy cried, in what? Pain? Relief? Nevi couldn’t be sure but son of a bitch did the room buzz with an itchy, menacing vibration of energy. This, was so very not good.

“We are in serious trouble.” At Rick’s words, the mummy opened his mouth, its jaw extending far past what it should and gave an ungodly animal scream. From Nevi’s place hidden behind the Americans she felt her empty stomach flip in disgust. “We are in very serious trouble.” Rick iterated, the mummy flung his hand and all the men before Nevi were sent flying back. She felt heavy body weight and elbows hitting her as her body was slammed into the marble floor. Shoving Henderson off her, Nevi leaned up to see the mummy about to kiss Evie on the lips. Its head snapped to the side and it screamed again. Turning into a swirling storm of sand it flew out the open window, leaving a hissing white cat behind it.

“We’ve really got to find a way to kill that guy.” Nevi groaned as she rose to her feet. Feeling every bruise that had just been inflicted on her body.

\--

After much debate the girls convinced everyone that they needed to go to the Museum of Antiquities, if anything to read over all of Evie’s notes on Hamunaptra. Nevi though had a feeling Dr. Bey could shed some light onto the subject. Henderson and Daniels had argued through their teeth to stay at the Fort, until Nevi let them know in no uncertain terms that if they wanted to stay, they were bloody welcome and she was sure they could hold their own alone against the corpse that wanted to suck out their life. That got them right on board with the museum idea.

All their feet hurriedly rushing reverberated off the walls of the museum. Even with her height Nevi had to take two steps for every one of Rick’s hurried ones, dragging Evie behind her. Not about to let her friend go after being nearly assaulted by a zombie pervert.

“What’s this guy want?” Daniels asked for the hundredth time.

“From what it seems?” Nevi snapped. “You dead.”

“We didn’t do nothin’ though.” Henderson whined at her.

“He thinks you did.” Rick said.

“Well I think Nevi’s right. From what you said about how Dr. Bey acted about us going to Hamunaptra, he’ll have answers for us.” Evie seemed determined to re-kill the mummy. Nevi had a feeling that it was guilt over being the one who woke him up and the possibility of him murdering hundreds of innocent people. They turned the corner to the displays holding room that Dr. Bey’s office was off of and halted.

Dr. Bey was standing there with the rider. “You!” Evie all but snarled, pointing at the man. He showed no emotion to her hostility. All the men around Nevi pulled guns and pointed them at the black clad rider.

“Miss Carnahan, Miss Moore.” Dr. Bey inclined his head at them. Nevi’s eyes jumping from the rider to Dr. Bey immediately, not wanting to meet the former man’s eyes should he look at her. Dr. Bey surveyed the guns pointing in his direction. “Gentlemen.”

“What’s he doing here?” Nevi asked. He didn’t seem the type that the uptight, scholarly curator would know.

“Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to shoot us?” Dr. Bey asked. Nevi’s eyebrows shot up. Such sass for a man who had guns pointed at him.

“After what I just saw,” Rick uncocked his pistol and lowered it. The Americans and Johnathan following his lead. “I’m willing to go on a little faith here.”

“Please sit.” Dr. Bey gestured to some replica 20th dynasty chairs. Rick was the only one who sat. _How can he be so comfortable?_ Nevi felt like her nerves were going to dance right out of her body if she sat still. Henderson and Daniels hovered at the edge of the group, staying as far away from the rider and Dr. Bey as they could. Evie stood next to the chair Rick was sitting on and Nevi stood between her and the replica chariot that Johnathan had taken up residence in. Dr. Bey sat to the right of Rick, pulling the chair back so he could see all of them. The rider stood behind Dr. Bey, his hand on his scimitar, head held high, and leaning against the railings supporting the replica chariot. If she took three long steps, she would be standing right in front of him. Nevi had been hoping he would be farther away from her. The memories of her time in the bathtub not too long ago creeping back into her mind. A faint flush rising at her cheek bones.

“I’m assuming you lot haven’t been properly introduced.” Dr. Bey continued after everyone was settled. Nevi’s flush fading as her brain once again concentrated fully on the issue at hand. A reanimated 3,000-year-old mummy.

“Why am I not surprised that you have been.” Nevi muttered, eyeing Dr. Bey a little irritated honestly. He knew that man that had been trying to kill them for weeks now and from their body language they knew each other quite well.

Dr. Bey merely raised his eyebrows and smiled at her in a formally polite manner. As if they were discussing the newest Bembridge scholar newsletter on chiseling techniques over high tea. Gesturing behind him. “This is Ardeth Bay. He is the chieftain of one of the twelve tribes of the Medjai.” Nevi’s eyes shot to his face. _Isn’t he young for a chieftain?_ Dark amber eyes met hers and she quickly returned her eyes to Dr. Bey. “We are part of an ancient secret society. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world-.”

“And now, because of you, we have failed.” Ardeth interrupted. His voice calm but the eyes that were trained on Evie were filled with anger. The deep vibrations of his voice sending little pricks of energy to Nevi’s lower back.

Evie bristled in defiance under his gaze. “You think this justifies the killing of innocent people?” Nevi’s mind went to all the people on the boat and the many diggers who had lost their lives in the attempts to keep them from the city.

“To stop this creature? Let me think.” Dr. Bey said in mock thought. Then he and Ardeth together answered the question. “Yes!”

Nevi quirked an eyebrow in consideration, her head tilting to the side. Just from what she’d seem if he was as bad as they were saying, as the legend laid out for them… then maybe killing as many people as it took was acceptable. But then… how far do you go before you’re as bad as the monster you want to stop. _Why didn’t they kill us? Shit, why even create that curse in the first place?_

“Question.” Rick held up his hand like a schoolboy in class. “Why doesn’t he like cats?”

“Cats are the guardians of the underworld.” Dr. Bey said, in the tone of someone explaining basic arithmetic. “He will fear them until he is fully regenerated.”

“Just as he fears this one.” Ardeth pointed at Nevi. She froze as all eyes turned to her. “He called her Priestess Nenet and said that soon she would not be able to stop him.” Dr. Bey’s head snapped up and stared at Nevi with huge eyes like this was massively important information.

“What?” Nevi stared at Ardeth confused. “When did that happen?”

“When you met in Hamunaptra.” Ardeth said simply.

Nevi thought back to when the mummy had her cornered. He had spoke in Ancient Egyptian but her turbulent mind hasn’t been able to translate it. “I’m not the priestess of anything and I highly doubt the resurrected body of a powerful Egyptian high priest is quaking in his boots at the sight of me.”

From her right Johnathan said, “Yes she’s scary but not that scary.” Nevi tore her eyes off Ardeth to glare at him. _Not the time Johnathan._

“There must be something about you that reminds him of her. She was his counterpart. Female to male energy during ceremonies. She was also one of the people in charge of his punishment.” Dr. Bey said softly.

“Oh, great so he thinks I killed him.” Nevi hummed with a calm she did not feel. “Wonderful.”

“Once he is regenerated however, he will fear nothing.” Ardeth said with the same carefully built calm. Nevi loosely crossed her arms in front of her stomach, the pressure comforting her a little. _Not that you can really be comfortable after finding out that the gross mummy who’s stalking your best friend thinks you killed him in one of the worst ways man has ever invented._

“You know how he gets hisself fully regenerated?” Henderson wailed from across the room.

Daniels jumped about like an electric current was zapping his legs. “By killin’ everyone who opened that chest.”

“And suckin’ ‘em dry.” Henderson’s wail grew louder. “All ‘cause little Miss Read-a-book over here had to go messin’ with things that don’t belong to her.” He jabbed a finger repeatedly at Evie.

Rick sat up looking like Henderson had just insulted him personally, “Excuse you?”

Nevi felt red blotches at the corners of her vision. “No one made you open that chest!” She snapped. “I seem to recall a lot of loud mouth bragging over taking piles of gold treasure. Are you really going to stand there and tell me that jar belongs to you? Finders keepers isn’t real. I’m pretty sure our mummy friend will be wanting his heart and liver back when he comes to meet you” Both men looked down at the canopic jars that hadn’t left their hands since they left Hamunaptra. Still feeling the current of anger Nevi saw Johnathan pulling on the replica bow in the chariot and turned it on him. “Johnathan, will you stop playing with that?”

He jumped and almost knocked the mannequin over. Looking down at her and mouthing ‘Sorry”.

“When I saw him alive at Hamunaptra.” Evie’s voice was dreamy, she had probably been thinking about the details of this the entire problem. Nevi was sure she hadn’t even heard Henderson insulting her. “He called me Anck-su-namn. And then just now in Mr. Burns’ quarters h-he tried to kiss me.”

“It was because of his love for Anck-su-namun that he was cursed.” Dr. Bey looked shocked.

Ardeth continued for him, sounding like puzzle pieces were finally falling into place for him. “Apparently, even after 3,000 years he is still in love with her.”

“Yes, that is very romantic but what has it got to do with me?” Evie questioned.

“Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead.” Ardeth asked Dr. Bey.

He nodded slightly then looked horrified, casting his gaze to Evie. “And it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice.” Evie let out an almost imperceivably squeak of fear and grabbed the back of Nevi’s arm.

Johnathan inhaled through his teeth. “Bad luck, old mum.”

“Johnathan.” Nevi snapped glaring at him before turning to look at a horror-struck Evie. Grabbing her hand on her arm and squeezing it. “We won’t let him love.”

“Oh! Yes, n-no of course not.” Johnathan nodded eagerly. This thought just now coming to him. “No mummy sacrifices for you.”

Nevi didn’t even turn to look at him. Just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature.” Dr. Bey said.

“We will need all the help we can get.” Ardeth spoke to the room but his eyes were firmly fixed upwards. Everyone followed his gaze and through the sunroof, saw the sun being blocked out. Darkness falling in midday. “His powers are growing.”

“And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens… and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.” Johnathan said it but again Nevi heard it called out in the fire and brimstone voice of her old chaplain.

“We should go.” Rick said, the solider back in his voice.

“I’m going to stay here.” Nevi said. “There’s got to be something in one of these old books that can help.”

“I’ll stay too.” Evie offered but Nevi quickly shut it down.

“No, you stay with Rick, this thing doesn’t want to sacrifice me.” Nevi told her, trying to keep her tone light and a smile at the corner of her mouth. “And he’s, ya know,” Nevi held her hands out in front of her spread apart one going vertical and the other horizontal. “Large.” Her attempt at humor worked as Evie gave a small laugh and smile. It was a tight smile but it was there.

As the others walked towards the door, Evie and Johnathan hovered by Nevi. “Are you sure?” Evie asked quietly.

“Yes, you go. Get protected by your dashing American criminal. Tell me all the naughty details later.” Nevi winked at her, causing Evie to blush and shush her. “Go.” She pushed Evie gently towards Rick who was now waiting by the door. “You watch her.” Nevi told Johnathan, sternly, turning into mom mode.

“Of course.” Bravado filling his face.

“I mean it Johnathan.”

“Right.” The bravado fell from his face but he nodded. Making his way to the door. Nevi turned and caught Rick’s eye.

“Watch him watch her yea?” He smiled at her and nodded. Ushering the two out the door.

Nevi went to follow, thinking which of the books in the museum could help, but a gentle hand at her elbow made her stop and turn. She hadn’t realized Ardeth was still standing there. Dr. Bey left to find books for them to search and she had assumed he went with. Realizing they were alone together Nevi felt her blush creep back. Those dark amber eyes stared down at her and she felt herself transfixed.

“I believe this is yours.” He spoke softly, so different from the commanding tone she had only ever heard him use. She tore her eyes from his to look down. Threaded through long, elegant fingers was her necklace. The gold chain dull in the premature darkness but both rings hung at the end, unharmed. And untarnished, as if he’s polished them. The blush vanished from her face. All awkward attraction leaving her mind. Instead her eyes widened, and her mouth fell into, what she was sure was a very attractive, gap.

“Wh-where’d you get that?”

“The boat.” He let the chain slide through his fingers and into her cupped hand beneath. “For someone to try to run back into flames to retrieve it. It must have been very important.”

Nevi felt tears sting the corner of her eyes. She looked back up to him, her vision blurring. His eyes were softer. Less intense, the gold dancing through them more freely, and dare she say it; the traces of the faintest smile the world had ever seen at their edges. She’d never seen them this way and they were enough to send her legs to jelly had she not been so shocked and grateful. Nevi looked down to the pile of necklace in her palm and ran her thumb over the rings. She swallowed trying to find the words. “Thank you.” Was all she could summon but she tried to put in every once of gratitude and amazement she felt for him right now. He inclined his head. Nevi felt a tear escape and slide down her cheek.

She quickly brushed it away. Not knowing how to transition from this interaction Nevi chose to be awkward. “We should um, g-go look for-.” She pointed over her shoulder and instead of finishing just turned on her heal and walked to Dr. Bey’s office. Placing her newly returned necklace around her neck and giving the rings a quick kiss before tucking it into her shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I say that Nevi washed her hair with rosemary vinegar I mean white vinegar that had had rosemary steeped in it. It was a very common way that women washed their hair at the turn of the century before shampoos and conditioners were mass marketed to people and is actually really good for your hair :) just a little hair care history for you. Not that anyone asked


	10. Chapter 5.5

It wasn’t until the early hours of the next day, Nenet was sure, that the party started to fizzle out and she excused herself from the Pharaoh to head back to her chambers. She was a few feet down the hallway when a cry made her stop and turn.

“Priestess! Priestess, wait.” It was Upton. Walking with speed towards her. He slowed his walk to an elegant stroll when he saw her stop for him, and put on what she was sure was his most charming smile as he reached her. “Allow me the honor of walking you to your room? We could spend some, extra- time together.”

Nenet smiled stiffly, _oh gods, what do I do?_ “I’m sorry, it is not custom in the palace for a man to walk a woman to her rooms unless they are… involved with each other.”

Upton shot a glance to his left where Ammon stood. Stone faced and imposing as he was. Upton looked back at her with eyebrows raised. “He- is walking you back?” The emphasis of his words standing out to her, causing her to blush at the images of her and Ammon being involved with each other that flashed through her mind.

She cast them away though, this man. This mere merchant dared come into her home, her life, and talk to her like this. The entitlement of her position rarely riffled Nenet up when someone did not abide by proper behavior, but this time it did. Just this implication alone could get Ammon in trouble and he dares throw it around so nonchalantly. “He-,” she said with the same emphasis on the word that Upton had used. “is my Medjai. My bodyguard. He goes with me everywhere.”

Upton seemed to catch her tone and his smile turned sour. “Of course. Goodnight then, High Priestess.”

“Goodnight.” She turned on her heel and strode off towards her room.

With every step she prickled more at his gall. By the time they had arrived at her door she was fuming. She hadn’t noticed how quiet Ammon as being.

“The damn nerve!” She stomped ahead of Ammon slightly. “Implying that he could just come back to my room. Where the hell does he get off?”

“He probably thought you were flirting with him.”

The coldness in Ammon’s voice stopped Nenet’s raging thoughts up quick. “What?”

“Flirting, he thought you were flirting with him. Anyone would.” Nenet could only stare at him. Standing there needle straight in front of her, looking down at her with no emotion on his face. “It is a smart match High Priestess; a well-off merchant like him. Perhaps you should have allowed him back to your room. _Into your bed._ He needn’t have said the last words. They hung in the air between the two.

_High Priestess? He didn’t even call me that when we first met._ All the rage was sucked from Nenet so quickly that the confusion barely had time to register as she said meekly. “I don’t want him in my room-,” just stopping herself before saying, ‘I want you’. Instead saying, “Are you alright?”

“Perfectly fine.” His smile was tight and ungenuine. He looked up over her head. “You should get some rest.”

“I’m not tired. Now tell me what’s wrong.” Concern over talking the unsure confusion.

“Nothing.”

“Please.”

“Nothing!”

“Please!”

“Nothing!”

“AMMON!”

“I’M JUST A MEDJAI!” His shout echoed down the empty hall, but it brought his eyes back down to hers. There was sadness in them and the anger there was not directed at her she thought, but at himself. “I’m just a Medjai.” He said again, this time in a whisper. I will never be more than that. I lo-.” He stopped himself, hanging his head.

“You are not _just_ a Medjai. You are a good man, very brave. You protect people and-,” Nenet shook her head, at a loss. _This sweet, perfect man- how low he thinks of himself._ She never knew. He was her friend now, at the end of it all. If they could be nothing more than that she would live with it. No friend of hers would think so lowly of themselves as to say they were ‘just’ anything. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him towards the door, ignoring the buzz of energy that passed from his hand to hers. She pulled him into her room and locked the door behind her. “Where did this all come from?”

Ammon shook his head. Avoiding her gaze and shifting side to side on his feet.

“Ammon, what do you mean?”

He took a deep breath, like he was preparing himself for battle. “I will only ever be a Medjai, Nenet.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “You are the High Priestess… I- I can’t watch you be with another man. I’m going to Pharaoh tomorrow and requesting to be changed as your guard. I’m going to tell him I am unfit to be your Medjai, you need someone else.”

“You’re leaving me?” Was all she could say. Until a part of his sentence finally clicked in her mind. “What do you mean ‘you can’t watch me be with another man’? What man am I with”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Eventually there will be a man. I was a fool. I told myself I could live with just being near you, being your Medjai. After tonight though- I realized how ignorant that was of me, it was never going to last. Someone worthy was going to come along. I am just a Medjai.” He fell to his knees, hanging his head like a man presented for beheading. “Forgive me priestess. For stepping out of my place. Forgive me.”

“What are you saying?” It seemed to Nenet as though her brain had stopped working. She couldn’t seem to make sense of anything he said but had the feeling she was just being an idiot. That the answer was on the tip of her tongue, an obvious answer, that she just couldn’t reach.

Ammon whispered, “To think a great woman like you could ever love a simple Medjai like me back, it was shameful.”

_Love back… love back…_ “Love back?”

He flinched like she had hit him. And it clicked. He loved her. He actually loved her. He wanted… her. A burst light inside her chest. The happiness that overtook her was primal. He loved her.

Nenet fell to her knees. Gently she cupped his cheek. His skin burned hers in a pleasant way that tickled her stomach and when her finger reached his hair, she sighed at the softness of it. Bringing her other hand to his other cheek she gently brought his face up so that he was looking at her. For the first time since knowing him she let herself stare at him. Taking in all his beauty. His eyes were a dark brown they were almost black and in place of the normal glint of mischief was sadness. His lashes were so long that when he closed his eyes to avoid her gaze they brushed against his high cheekbones. It was his lips that she concentrated on now. They were welcomingly plump and she found herself wondering what it would be like to suck on his lower lip.

She hesitated only a moment looking at his angelic face, before she leaned in. Her lips met his and it was like lightening going off in her brain. It was beyond any magic she’d seen in her water. It felt right. This was home and she could kneel here forever with their lips pressed to each other.

It shattered as he pulled his face from hers. His large hands wrapped around her wrists and took her hands away from his face. “Nenet, please don’t. We can never. There’s no way that you love me.”

Nenet felt like he’d smacked her in the face. She stood, wavering on legs that felt like mush. How could she convince him? Desperate times, and she was desperate for more of him, call for desperate measures. Her fingers went to her shoulders, undoing the clasps that held her dress on her body. The smooth fabric slid off her and pooled on the stone floor.


	11. Chapter 6

“These are all I could find that might help us.” Dr. Bey let the stack of ten books he was holding fall to the table.

“That’s it?” Nevi sunk into one of the cushioned chairs pulled up to the round study table. Having finally dried her eyes and regulated her breathing again. “Ten books in all the library?”

Dr. Bey looked a little indignant as he answered, “Well there’s not a lot of mention of Imhotep in the ancient writings. No one truly thought this day would come.”

“Why have a secret society then?” Nevi asked blandly as she pulled a book towards her and started to riffle though it. Tucking her feet up under her.

“We have other responsibilities besides the beast.” Ardeth said from beside her… defensively?

Nevi felt a spike of guilt at that, she was irritated yes but this man had just given her back her parents’ rings and she just basically said his whole job, no reason for being, was pointless.

“Quite.” Dr. Bey said stiffly as he seated himself, the formality never leaving him for a second. “I also believe I warned you against letting Evelyn off on her own.”

“I never let her off on her own.” The fire back in Nevi at his accusing words. Her eyes narrowing venomously. This most definitely was not her fault. “And I am not her keeper. How about a better warning next time? Or any warning.”

“I told you it was dangerous.” He said huffing down at his book. “You should have minded me.”

“I don’t think dangerous fully encompasses the weight of possibly resurrecting a cursed mummy. Disease is dangerous. Tunnel collapse is dangerous. Bringing back an apocalyptic undead is something else.” Nevi snipped, hoping her words dripped with sarcasm and mockery. She could see Ardeth in her peripheral vision, watching the two of them have at it. Mildly embarrassed, feeling like she was getting scolded by a parent.

“You let Evelyn read from a sacred text.”

“Well who creates a curse that gives someone superpowers and then shoves it on a guy with homicidal revenge plans just for wanting to sleep with a girl the pharaoh thought he owned.”

Dr. Bey seemed lost for words. He sat there staring wide eyed at Nevi. His mouth gapping open like a fish, anger and frustration flashing through his eyes in intervals.

A soft, deep voice spoke from Nevi’s right, “That is a fair point.” Nevi looked over to see Ardeth leaning back in his chair, one leg propped on the other and a book, open and leaning against his knee.

“Ardeth.” Dr. Bey said aghast. Which made Nevi quirk a quick smile. Now who was getting scolded by a parent. Though she was surprised the Medjai chief had agreed with her about any of it.

Ardeth shrugged and looked down at the book on his lap. “I am just saying that it would have been far more stable to mummify him alive with his priests.” His tone and face said that he didn’t particularly want to get involved in their spat beyond this.

Nevi looked back at Dr. Bey with her brows raised, pointing at Ardeth she said, “Mummied alive. Valid option Dr. Bey.”

He stared at her with unreadable eyes, his face blank save for the slight grinding of his teeth that Nevi could just barely make out in his jaw muscle. “Terrance. You frustrating little urchin.” He disappeared behind his book now.

“That’s what I thought.” Nevi said quietly. Triumph listing through her voice as he had no valid argument to rebuttal with, she’d consider this a win. Letting her eyes fall onto the page in front of her so they could finally start the search for… what? A spell? An enchantment? A weapon? How exactly did you stop a 3,000-year-old corpse from wielding the 10 plagues of Egypt upon the world as revenge for not being allowed a good shag?

The three searched in silence for what felt like hours. The darkness outside persisting and Dr. Bey disappearing twice to hunt for more possible books as their options ran low. Every so often her mind would wander and she found herself surveying Ardeth, thoroughly fascinated by the young chieftain. The back of his hands had tattoos on them. Linear symbols that ran down the same path as the tendons and something else that poked out of the tight leather cuffs he had on each wrist. She had never been this close to his face before, without fear overriding all other senses. His cheekbones were lovely and defined, she could tell now that the word ‘truth’ was tattooed across both cheeks. Long eyelashes framed his deep amber eyes and it was adorable the way his brow furrowed in concentration as he read through passages. He sat in a casual manner most of the time, reclined backwards and flicking through pages, but it was almost like sometimes he remembered he was supposed to present as a chief and would sit up for formally and turn the books pages with more regal define.

By the last book in the stack Nevi was starting to feel a dull pound, pound, pound at the base of her skull. Rubbing her hands at the spot where her neck met her skull, she let out a quiet noise, somewhere between a groan and a moan. This was getting them nowhere. She brought her head up and flited her eye open to find deep, unreadable amber pools framed in long lashes gazing back at her.

Ardeth quickly looked away almost as soon as her eyes met his and addressed Dr. Bey, “This is starting to feel a little pointless.”

Nevi shifted her gaze to Dr. Bey as he too groaned in frustration and taking off his reading glasses threw them down on the table and rubbed his hands over his face. He sat there for a moment. Thumbs rubbing at his temples. “Ok,” He thrust his hands down on the table. The sudden movement and loud bang of his palms meeting the wood made Nevi start to attention in her chair. “Let’s think. What else did Evelyn or anyone else do when it first started?”

Dr. Bey gazed at her and Nevi tried to rack her mind. In her memory the night was mostly just screams and terror, running and the musty, encroaching sent of the mummy coming at her, but there was one thing she knew for sure. All had been normal until, “She read from the book. She did nothing besides reading from that book she took from the Egyptologist that was traveling with the Americans.”

“I do not understand.” Ardeth said, his gazing going from Nevi as she looked up at him to Dr. Bey. “The Book of Amun-Ra is not supposed to elicit this kind of power”

It was Nevi’s turn to be confused. “It wasn’t the Book of Amun-Ra.”

Dr. Bey and Ardeth looked at her, confusion playing across their brows and through their eyes. “What?” Ardeth asked as Dr. Bey demanded, “Explain.”

Nevi shook her head slightly, “The book wasn’t gold. It was black. Evie thought it might have been the Book of the Dead.”

Dr. Bey let out a nettled groan. “She thinks she has the Book of the Dead and her first thought is to steal it and read from it. Honestly.”

“It’s Evie, she sees a book and she has to read it. You know that.”

“I thought your Banbridge scholars discovered that the Book of Amun-Ra was buried at the base of Anubis not the Book of the Dead.” Ardeth asked the room.

“Bembridge scholars.” Nevi corrected without really thinking of it. She missed the faint blush that crept onto Ardeth’s face at her rectification, because at that moment something clicked in her brain. _Those bloody Bembridge scholars_. “The Bembridge scholars.” She repeated quietly to herself.

“What about the oafs?” Dr. Bey grumbled.

“What if they got it wrong.” Dr. Bey furrowed his brow at her and Ardeth merely stared. “What if they got the translation wrong.” Excitement glinting into her voice. Maybe they weren’t 100% doomed after all.

Nevi watched as slowly understanding spread across Dr. Bey’s face. Ardeth though was a little quicker on the uptake as he turned to meet Nevi’s eyes, excitement gleaming in them as well. “Where do these scholars claim the Book of the Dead should rest?” The lyrical lint of his accent sending a shiver down her spine.

Before either Dr. Bey or herself could answer the door to Dr. Bey’s office burst open and Rick was striding in, Evie on his heels. At seeing her Nevi jumped to her feet to convey their discovery.

“The Bembridge scholars mistranslated that stone. They got it wrong” Was screamed from Nevi as Evie yelled in her face. “They mixed up the books! It’s been the wrong one this whole time.” It took the two a moment to realize what had been said to them before they both broke into cheeky smiles and Nevi muttered, “Maybe the gold book can kill him.”

“Fantastic, so we’re all on the same page and really need to light a fire under our collective asses.” Rick said motioning to the room. It was then that Nevi took count of who had entered the room.

Rick and Evie, followed by Johnathan and Daniels… “Why’re we down an American?” Nevi asked quietly

“And the man who had the book.” Ardeth had gotten to his feet and strode around the table to stand next to Nevi. The air around him was palpable with some energy that ran goose flesh up and down her skin.

It was Daniels that answered, his shaky voice coming from the spot on the floor just inside the door where he’d collapsed. “He got’em. Dehydrated like pieces of jerky.” Suddenly he looked up, his eyes crazed like a too long caged animal. “I gotta get out of here. If I hit the docks now, I might be able to get a last-minute boat to Europe, he can’t possibly follow me all the way back home.” 

This proclamation sent waves of chaos through the room. Shouts of surprise, voicements of astonishment at the idea, voicements of agreements at the idea, warnings of duty and saving the world from a supernatural beast. Over and over each other they all talked and yelled until it was too much for Nevi. “QUIET!” she screamed as loud as she could. It worked, all voices stopped and faces turned to her. “Now shut it and listen, you two” she pointed to Dr. Bey and Evie, “get to that damned stone tablet and start trying to figure out where the hell the Book of Amun-Ra _actually_ is, you two” now Rick and Ardeth, “make sure she doesn’t get sacrificed, you” Johnathan, “stay out of trouble, don’t touch anything, and don’t lose the key if it opened the Book of the Dead we’ll probably need it for the Book of Amun-Ra, and you” finally Daniels, “suck it up, you opened that chest now deal with it. Running away won’t keep you alive unless that thing gets back in a sarcophagus.” For a moment no one moved, they were all just staring at her still. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Evie jumped a little as if coming out of a trance and muttered “Right, yes”, before grabbing Johnathan’s arm and scrabbling out of the room, closely followed by Dr. Bey and Rick. As Nevi exited the room she turned left instead of right as the others had towards the stone tablet on the second floor where the Bembridge scholars had supposedly found the Book of Amun-Ra’s location. To the left was the stairs to the basement where she had been attempting to translate hieroglyphs from her trip to Thebes. Those translation dictionaries may not be perfect, but they would help.

Before she got more than two paces to the left however a deep voice and a gentle touch to her shoulder stopped her in her tracks making her flip around to see Ardeth’s tall, built frame hulking over her. “If it is all the same to you, I think I will make sure you do not get sacrificed. From what I have seen Rick can protect your friend Evie and Imhotep is under the impression you are the priestess Nenet, so he is not too fond of you either.”

Nevi felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. He wanted to protect her? Make sure she, specifically didn’t get sacrificed or killed at Imhotep’s hand. _Please, he probably just doesn’t want any more blood to be shed because of this. It’s nothing to do with you specifically_ , still though. Nevi felt the beat of her heart quicken to the point where she was sure he could hear it. Thankfully however when she finally managed to find her voice it came out calm and steady, if not a little too quiet for having just shouted at a room. “Um- yes, thank you. I mean that’d be fine.”

He inclined his head in a slight bow and gestured out with arm. “Lead the way.”

Nevi turned and hurried down the hall, Ardeth quick on her heels. Their footsteps echoed through the empty corridors of the lower levels. Nevi was overly aware of Ardeth’s presence but tried to keep her mind focused. Every time they were left alone together it was as if her mind shut down. The door to the artifact room she had been working in wasn’t too far down the hallway and it was only minutes before they entered.

Running over to the table, Nevi thanked the museum workers for hating the artifact rooms and therefore not cleaning up her mess. She picked up the larger of the two dictionaries, the one that wasn’t from the Bembridge scholars, which was a bonus. Turning she saw Ardeth’s face scrunched in confusion and- something else she couldn’t place, looking down at the sketch of the mystery hieroglyph on the table. She had copied it over and over in a habitual thinking mechanism and frustration fixer, that the table was littered with its image. “What?”

He didn’t look up at her, but gestured to the sketches, “Where did you see this?”

She looked between him and the sketches, excitement and confusion mixing in her. _He didn’t appear very pleased._ “Thebes- why? Do you know what it is? I can’t find it in any hieroglyph records.”

“How did you get in those rooms?” Ardeth had turned to her now and the look sitting in those dark eyes was unreadable. _This damn man. Will he ever be less mysterious?_

Nevi’s mouth gapped in trying to find an answer. Truth be told she’d just stumbled on the set of rooms in what felt like a trance, she barely remembered getting to them and then just got lucky that she picked the right wall sconce to open the secret door. “Found a trap door?” She said weakly, asking him more than answering his question.

The faintest cry of “Damn it Johnathan” met her ears. Nevi wasn’t sure if it was real or the audio memories of all the times she’d heard it being yelled from this room, but it snapped her out of their conversation. “We need to go.”

She headed for the door, trusting that he would follow her, and stopped dead as soon as she’d turned from the room. A handful of men were scrambling through the door at the end of the short hall. It was locked and chained shut to prevent theft of museum antiquities in a lesser traveled area of the museum but they had broken the glass to unlock it and started shoving their way through the small gap the chain allowed the door to open. The ones that had already squeezed their way in, turned to Nevi with blank unseeing eyes. They were muttering something but Nevi’s brain couldn’t make sense of it at the moment. _What the hell was wrong with them?_

“Stay back here.” Nevi felt the gust of breath from his words shift the hair around her ear and the sensation sent shivers down her spine. Blanking her mind so that his words made no sense until she saw him throw the first punch.

One man went down.

Another. Another. The sickening crack of what must be, now, several broken noses reverberating along the small hall. Nevi watched on, feeling useless at not being able to help. Sure, she could throw a punch when needed but she was no fighter.

The first man Ardeth had knocked down stumbled back to his feet, and started towards Ardeth. Approaching him whilst Ardeth was busy with a large lumbering man that Nevi truly couldn’t figure out how the small sliver of open space at the door had allowed him entrance. “Ardeth behind you!” With a heaving jab Ardeth knocked the large man back far enough that he could swing around and land a solid blow to the man behind him, sending him crumbling to the ground. Out of the fight for good now. The last few men had made their way through the door and were advancing on Ardeth.

Nevi had other issues to worry about though. Her shout to Ardeth had alerted the large man to her presence. His dead gaze swept her way and he started towards her. Panic flooded Nevi. _Oh my God! Oh Allah! Oh Seti! What the hell do I do?_

Run.

It was the only thing she could think of. Turning she B-lined to the tallest storage case she thought she could climb up. If she were high up then at least he wouldn’t be baring down on her.

The case was a large reinforced glass and ornate wood goliath. It would hold her weight for sure. As she reached it, she sensed more then heard the large man behind her. She spun quickly on her heal and smashed the dictionary as hard as she could into him. It struck at the side of his head, dazing him and making him stumble to the side. Not hesitating she tossed the dictionary onto the case and with all her strength pulled her self onto the top, her shoes clacking against the carved wood in a way that made her sure she was ruining it. At the moment though, she couldn’t give a damn.

Just as she pulled her foot over the side the case gave an almighty shake. Nevi screamed and clutched onto it for dear life. She could hear objects inside falling into one another. The large man was shaking it. His head just barely peered over the top of it. Those dead eyes staring at her, unblinkingly. She clasped the dictionary and started hitting it at him.

In an instant those dead eyes were gone. Nevi blinked. Carefully, in case he was going to grab her, she leaned over the edge of the case.

Ardeth was there. His forearm pressing into the large man’s throat, face strained with the effort. Muscles in bulging against the robes he wore. The large man was bent backwards, his arms flailing, trying to smack at Ardeth.

Slowly the large man’s arms stopped moving. His knees buckled and his eyes slide shut. Ardeth held his grip on the man’s throat for a few more seconds. Releasing the man, Ardeth held his head up and checked for a pulse. Nodding he let the man slump to the ground and turned his attention to Nevi. “Are you alright?”

She tried to answer but it seemed as if her throat had been stopped up, so she settled for a weak nod. She looked down the hall, seven men laid stunned on the floor.

“What do you think you are? A little monkey?” Ardeth’s voice pulled her attention away from the men on the ground. She looked at him and to her surprise saw… amusement. He was smirking at her, humor glinting in his eyes. At her puzzled expression he raised his eyebrows, still smirking, “Climbing a cabinet? Really?”

She gapped at him. “It- it was the only thing I could think of… are you really making jokes right now?” A slightly smile forming on her face at the absurdity of it all. “We were just attacked by zombie men.”

He shrugged a bit. “Stranger things have happened.”

“To you maybe.” Nevi leaned farther over the edge. Amused now by his amusement. _He has quite a lovely smile._ His full lips were pulled up in a bigger smirk now and she could see glimpses of shiny white teeth.

Ardeth looked at her now in slight disbelief, seriousness sneaking its way back into his tone. “Need I remind you that you raised a mummy from the dead.”

“ _I_ -,” she said with as much emphasis as she could, flinging her legs over the side of the case and dropping the dictionary to the floor. “did nothing of the sort. That was Evie.”

“Oh, well pardon my lack of attention to minute details.” He said sarcastically.

“Apology accepted.” She huffed as she adjusted her arms to allow herself to dangle from the top of the cabinet. Getting up this thing was far easier. As was the benefit of adrenaline.

“Do you need help?”

“No, thank you I can manage by myself.” Nevi said stubbornly. She now hung from the edge of the case, willing her hands to let go, she wasn’t too far from the ground.

“Are you sure?”

That did it. The doubt in his voice made her fingers act on their own. Releasing her. Though it was only a few seconds Nevi’s stomach did the little whoosh into her throat that happens when one falls. Her feet hit the ground and she stumbled, unladylike into a standing position. Straightening her trousers, she looked up at him, quipping. “Jokes and sarcasm, didn’t know you had it in you.”

He snorted in mild amusement, before gesturing to the men on the ground. “Is there any place we can lock them up in?”

“There’s a broom cupboard just here.” It took them a few minutes to drag all the bodies into the small cupboard. Ardeth tried to tell Nevi she didn’t need to help, to which she gave him a small glare and grabbed a man’s arm. It took a lot out of her to drag him into the cupboard, she was sure she had dislocated his arm with the amount she had had to tug on it. In the end only doing two to Ardeth’s five, but at least she had helped.

She stood fiddling with the lock to get it closed. A loud scrapping noise echoed through the hall, making her jump and turn. Ardeth was dragging a solid oak bookcase, full of papyrus scrolls, in front of the broken door. _Lord, how bloody strong was he?_ “What’re you doing?” She got the lock to finally click shut and turned fully to him as he got the bookcase in place.

Heaving a bit from the effort he turned to her. “We do not want more coming through here where we cannot see them.”

“Fair point.” Nevi mumbled. Ardeth held his arm out in an ‘after you’ gesture and Nevi scooped up the dictionary from the floor and headed for the stairs that led up into the museum, to where the stone tablet was housed that bared the inscriptions leading to the whereabouts of the sacred books.

They reached the top of the main stairs to the upper exhibits and an ominous noise outside made Nevi stop in her tracks. Ardeth bumped into her. His large frame knocking her forward and she stumbled, but he caught her as they both came to a complete halt. At any other time, this would have made Nevi blush furiously and think for hours about how his hands were now resting on her shoulders with his muscular body looming over her in a protective way. His deep voice in her ear asking, “Are you alright? What is it?”

All Nevi could do though was stare at the circular window, the direction that the rhythmic noise had come from, and clutching the dictionary in white knuckled hands, whisper. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Johnathan’s voice asked, filling the space between them and catching the other three’s attention.

“Hush.” Was all Nevi said, straining her ears to hear it again. Not that she had to, the noise was much louder now.

It was a marching rhythm, many feet and many voices leading on to the same destination. On a mission. She felt Ardeth stiffen behind her, listening. Nevi walked slowly to the window. Ardeth and the others joining her. They stared down into the courtyard in front of the museum, where hundreds of bodies were descending upon the museum, moving like zombies in the picture shows back in England. One bald head in their mist, clearly standing out, and Nevi looked down into the face of who could only be Imhotep. _He looked so familiar_. Memories corded through her mind, fuzzy and fluid, like those from dreams. That face walking towards her down glittering hallways of marble and firelight. That face standing across from her over an altar stone. That face looking up at her as the man was forced to kneel, his tongue held out with tongs as someone came into her peripheral vision with a knife. The crowd was close enough now that their chant could be understood. “Imhotep, Imhotep, Imhotep.” Now she knew what the men downstairs had been muttering.

“Last but not least,” Johnathan’s voice was sad beside her, pulling her from her odd remembrances, as Nevi stood between him and Ardeth. “My favorite plague- boils and sores.”

“They have become his slaves.” Ardeth said, and if Nevi wasn’t mistaken there was a faint line of fear in his voice now.

“The men downstairs?” Nevi asked quietly.

“What men downstairs?” Evie shot at her, a slight panic in her voice.

“Don’t worry about it.” Nevi said simply as Ardeth answered her.

“Yes.” He nodded. “So, it has begun, the beginning of the end.”

“Not quite yet, it hasn’t.” It was the most confident and defiant that Nevi had heard Evie sound since they had first read the book back at Hamunaptra. “Come on.” She grabbed Nevi’s arm and went back to the stone.

Nevi stood there next to Evie, flipping through pages of hieroglyph translations. Evie was far more of a linguist then Nevi but Nevi could distinguish the often times too subtle differences between certain hieroglyphs then Evie so together they worked, with Dr. Bey next to them searching through another area of the stone. The mob outside growing ever closer, their voices ever clearer.

“According to the Bembridge scholars, the golden Book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Anubis.” Evie muttered more to herself then anyone around her.

“That’s where we found the black book.” Rick said, pacing impatiently behind her.

“Exactly.” Nevi flipped through pages until she found the symbol they needed, telling Evie. “Ahmenophus.”

Evie nodded and continued, “They mixed the books up. Mixed up where they were buried. So, if the black book is inside the statue of Anubis… then the golden book must be inside-.”

A shuttering thud sounded as something heavy hit the front doors of the museum. Nevi jumped and made for the railing that looked into the front foyer, standing between Rick and Ardeth, Johnathan jumping anxiously behind her. “Come on, Evie. Faster!”

“Patience is a virtue.” Evie sounded like a scolding nanny as she continued to scan the stone.

A thunderous crash echoed through the halls of the museum as the massive oak front doors fell to the ground and the mob began to rush into the building. Fighting and tripping over each other, uncaringly trampling any who fell.

Nevi whipped around to look at Evie, “Not right now it isn’t.” Her voice melded with Rick’s who’d said the same thing. The two looked at each other with raised eyebrows for only a beat.

Johnathan turned tail and ran down the hallway, shouting behind him. “I think I’ll go and get the car started.”

“I’ve got it!” Evie turned to them, beaming from ear to ear. “The golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus. Take that Bembridge scholars.” She punched the sky in triumph. Normally Nevi would make a big deal out of Evie besting the Bembridge scholars, _the bastards_ , but now was not the time.

Throwing the dictionary to the floor, Nevi darted forward and pulled Evie down the hall after Johnathan. “Yes, yes, fantastic, we really need to go though.”

Nevi could hear the others feet thundering behind her as she led the way, still dragging Evie, down the stairs to the first floor, left down a hallway, right towards the door that would lead them outside. But before her stood a small group of men, some of the mob from outside who had wound their way to the side of the museum. Evie screamed in her ear.

Before she could think about what she should do, an arm clad in black robes swung out from her left side and knocked down one man. Getting another before Nevi realized it was Ardeth, Rick to their right doing the same, yelled, “Keep running!”

Nevi puled Evie forward, the other girl stood stalk with fear or reluctance to leave Rick, Nevi wasn’t sure but they needed to go. Nevi hit the front doors, cool night air a refreshing relief from the hot building and the terror that now roamed inside. She pulled Evie around the corner and registered in the back of her mind that more footsteps had once again joined theirs, just a little bit behind them. Johnathan had the car started and turned in their direction, facing towards the front gates of the museum.

Daniels came bolting from out behind them, “Get this thing in gear, boy! Let’s get outta here.”

The chanting of “Imhotep” never ceasing as they ran to the car. Nevi helped Evie fling herself into the front seat next to Johnathan as Daniels clambered into the very back and Dr. Bey climbed into the middle. Suddenly strong hands gripped her waist and lifted her, she didn’t have time to feel even shock, before she was plopped down next to Dr. Bey and Ardeth was settling in next to her. She glanced at him, their eyes meeting for a moment, before the car lurched and Johnathan started to frantically take them towards the front gate.

From the front steps Nevi heard a shout of, “Imhotep” that didn’t have the same zoned out trance quality as the rest. Looking up she saw the slimy man from the American dig team that Rick had known, Beni. He was pointing at them and staring up at the large, round window they had watched the mob descend upon the museum from. In it was a hulking shape of the Priest, framed by the light from the electric bulbs inside the museum; he raised his hands, his robes spreading out in an unnatural manner, and gave an inhuman cry of fury as he watched them drive away.

Rick stood up in the front seat and turned to face the back of the car and Beni, “You’re gonna get yours, Beni! You hear me? You’re gonna get yours!”

Nevi heard the other man, only faintly, reply, “Oh, like I’ve never heard that one before!”

“How did you ever like him?” Nevi asked, bracing herself with her hand against the front seat to prevent herself falling straight into Ardeth as Johnathan took a wild turn, flinging them all about. Rick shrugged, and unknowing shrug, and righted Evie who had fallen completely on him due to Johnathan’s erratic driving.

“I understand the need to get away quickly but could you please not kill us in the process.” Evie grumbled to Johnathan as he took another rough turn, running over something that made the car and its occupants bounce around unceremoniously. This time Nevi did fly into Ardeth. Smacking against his solid chest, the adrenaline in her system making her even more aware that their thighs were totally pressed against each other. Dr. Bey righted himself, as he had been tossed into Nevi in turn.

“Really though,” Nevi muttered, as she was forced to press her hand full against Ardeth’s chest in order to right herself. She was blushing furiously; it was one hell of a chest. The linen of his robes wasn’t thick enough to mask the grooves and plains that made up his upper body. Nevi’s brain uncontrollably flicked to her hands running over it, exploring its form. _Please let me be paranoid and him not really be looking at me right now_.

“Shut it mums!” Johnathan snapped, speeding up as they made it to a long straight lane.

Her embarrassment was soon forgotten. The car gave an almighty lurch and Nevi was forced to shove both hands at the back of the front seat to prevent herself getting hurled up into it. The sound of the brakes screeching to an untimely stop filled her ears and then they were idling. Johnathan had brought them to a halt. Before them stood a massive crowd of Imhotep’s slaves. _Where were they supposed to go now?_ The street was narrow and there was no place to flip around. Driving out backwards was out of the question on this cluttered market street. So, they sat there. The seconds seemed to stretch on for hours. It was Rick who finally acted. His shout of “Hang on!”, barely registered in Nevi’s mind before she saw him stamp down on Johnathan’s foot that hovered over the gas petal.

Johnathan panicked, “Hey! O’Connell! O’Connell!”, his voice growing ever more frantic as they plowed towards the crowd.

They hit with the spine cringing noise of bones against metal. Nevi felt her stomach twist at the noise. She cringed and muttered “oh dear lord”, under her breath. Bodies flipped up over the hood of the car and bounced off the sides. The assault only lasted a few moments before the mind-controlled people began clambering onto the car and grabbing at them.

Nevi tried to scrunch herself up as small as possible as Dr. Bey and Ardeth threw punches at the attacking bodies. There wasn’t room for her to stand and attempt to help and if she tried it was likely that she would just get an elbow to the face as one of them drew back to hit. She saw Evie doing the same in the front seat. Though since Johnathan was driving and unable to stand to hit and Nevi doubted that’s the road he would have taken anyway, Evie was able to poke at eyes and smack at hands in at least most of one direction. Nevi’s mind fogged in the chaos. How they were going to get out of this one she hadn’t a clue. The stream of people coming at them was never ending, it seemed like the entire city of Cairo was under Imhotep’s command. From the backseat the sound of fists hitting faces was replaced by frantic yelps. Nevi turned to see Daniels trying to fight off four of the attackers at once.

Nevi scrambled over the seat back. She wasn’t much of a hand-to-hand fighter, hell she wasn’t much of a fighter in general, but her first boyfriend back in boarding school had been on the school boxing team and had on occasion taught Nevi a thing or two about hitting. At the very least she was confident she wouldn’t shatter her thumb- the rest of her hand was still up for debate though. Pulling back her arm with all her might and twisting as much upper body strength into it as she could, Nevi let loose her fist and felt it collide with one of the men’s faces. It hurt, but not as badly as she expected, and to her surprise she’d hit him hard enough to knock him back off the car and way from her and Daniels. She turned to the other side of the seat where Daniels still had three attacking him and kicked out towards one as Daniels finally flung one himself off the car. The man she kicked at faltered in the precarious position he had latched onto the car in and, arms wind milling, fell backwards onto the street. Daniels let the final man fly from the car and looked at her, “Nice right hook.” He nodded in thanks.

“Anytime,” Nevi said breathlessly. Still surprised at herself.

“Get down!” A deep, accented voice from somewhere farther front of the car yelled. Nevi grabbed Daniels head forcing him into a duck as a body was tossed over them, tumbling down the back of the car. Nevi looked up to watch the man disappear on the ground into the crowd’s feet.

A scream sounded so close to her ear that she felt herself flinch in shock and set her ears ringing. Arms wrapped themselves around her waist and Nevi felt her body get jerked backwards towards the edge of the car. The shock clicked off for her and Daniels’ voice was blaring in her ears, “Help me! Help me!” She twisted around as best she could to see mind-controlled men pulling Daniels out of the car, in return Daniels’ arms were wrapped so tightly around her waist that she was getting dragged along with him. The full force of what that would mean hit her and she started to thrash around, scratching and yanking at his hands.

“Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” Nevi felt her voice getting desperate as her back hit the side of the car, meaning Daniels’ was all the way out of the car and the only thing keeping them connected to this little island of safety was her. Daniels screaming the entire time, getting more panicked as the moments ticked on, clinging to her waist even tighter the more she fought him.

“Nevi!” she heard Evie cry from the front and someone cursing in Arabic.

Dr. Bey turned and dived for her but it was too late. With a final tug from Daniels’ as he tried to force himself back towards the car, she felt her body wrench from the vehicle. Her shoulder collided painfully with the ground below and Nevi tumbled and tumbled, feeling hundreds of bruises and scrapes blossoming across her whole body. Somewhere in the distance she was aware of people screaming, curses, and a single call of “Evie you can’t”, but all that filled her ears now was the blood pounding in her veins and the rhythmic chanting of “Imhotep, Imhotep”.

Nevi pulled herself from the ground and all she saw was the mind-controlled crowd closing in. She heard Daniels whimper and cast a look in his direction, shuffling her feet backwards to meet the wall of a building. He pulled his pistol and started firing into the crowd.

“How will that help?” Nevi hissed. Panic rising in her chest.

The crowd stopped. They ceased their slow, ominous march towards them and stood staring, still calling their chant but at a much lower level now. In the center before her and Daniels the bodies parted like the Red Sea and Nevi saw for the first time up close the almost wholly restored body of Imhotep. He strode towards them like he hadn’t a trouble in the world, smirking at Nevi.

She felt hands dragging her forward and realized that Daniels was forcing her between himself and Imhotep. “What are you doing? You little shithead.” She scathed at him and tried to plant her feet but before she knew it, she was staring up at Imhotep. Somehow it felt like she was looking at someone she hadn’t seen in years.

He spoke, quickly, but there was no need for her to translate. Beni’s voice sounded from behind Imhotep, “Hello Nenet. It hass been many ages since we last saw each other. Time has been well to you.”

“I’m not Nenet.” Nevi’s voice came out trembling. _What was he going to do to her? This undead curse that thought she was who made him that way._

Imhotep spoke again and Beni’s voice said, “Not in body, but in spirit, and soon your spirit will pay. But for now, I have business to finish.” He motioned for someone to step forward and from the crowd emerged a large man. His turban askew on his head and his eyes glazed over, unseeing. A tiny flick of Imhotep’s wrist and Nevi was shoved forward to be clasped at the upper arms by the man. He spun her around and held her there.

With nothing between him and Imhotep anymore, Daniels gave a terrified attempt at a smile. He held out the canopic jar to Imhotep, like it would keep the mummy placated. Imhotep tilted his head to the side and an unearthly noise filled the small outcrop of the street. Judging by the look on Daniels’ face, Nevi didn’t want to know what monstrous image Imhotep’s face had taken. She certainly didn’t want to see what came next. The horror and speed with which it happened was thrust on her and she couldn’t close her eyes.

Daniels rose, screaming, into the air and before Nevi’s very eyes his body started to implode on itself. Decades worth of mummification was happening in seconds. He screamed louder. She watched as his eyes sucked into his head and his muscles dehydrated. His screams broke off in an instant with a deafening crack like his spine had severed in half and what used to be Daniels fell, limp and lifeless as sand onto the ground. Nevi looked at it horrified. She barely felt the man holding her lift her into the air until she was flung over his shoulder. A fully revived Imhotep walked up to her as she hung from this stranger’s back. The arrogance and pride filling his eyes. He spoke and Beni said, “Now, let’s go meet your friends.”

Nevi bounced along after Imhotep. She could feel her ribcage bending at a dangerous angle on the man’s shoulder, she couldn’t care. The only thing playing through her mind was what happened to Daniels. A horror loop of pained screams paired with images of muscles being sucked dry. It wasn’t until she heard Dr. Bey’s voice say, “It’s the creature. He’s fully regenerated.” That she snapped, _we have to get out of here. He’s going to kill all of us._ She started pounding on the man’s back and kicking her feet in the air as best she could. “Let me down!”

She continued on until the man carrying her stopped and spun so that she could see what was before the crowd and Imhotep. She swept hair from in front of her eyes and gapped at the sight before her. _They were screwed._ The rest of her group was cornered. Shoved into an ever-shrinking space as Imhotep surveyed them. Dr. Bey and Ardeth had swords drawn, both looking at her in shock. At the other side of the open space Jonathon bounced on the balls of his feet looking utterly at a loss for what to do. Rick stood in the center, Evie behind him, a giant smile and a look of pure relief spreading across her face, “Nevi” she cried out. It was short lived, as Imhotep began to speak.

Beni translated his words. “Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine forever.”

“For all eternity, idiot.” Evie scoffed at Beni causing him to look down in confusion at his mistranslation but Imhotep ignored the two, continuing on.

“Take my hand- and I will spare you friends.”

“Oh dear.” Evie looked shook.

“Don’t you do it Evie.” Nevi said, kicking out again at the man who held her.

Imhotep looked over at Nevi, the arrogance on his face making her want to hit him. He spoke, Beni said, “You may even have the whore back for the time being, as a gesture of good faith.”

The ground was quickly coming at Nevi’s head as the man who held her flung her off his shoulder in the open space towards Johnathan. She hit the ground hard on her back and felt all air leave her lungs. It was only for a few seconds but as Johnathan scrambled towards her to haul her back into their corner, all she could manage to wheeze out was a weak, “You son of a bitch.”

Imhotep smirked.

“Have you got any bright ideas?” Evie asked Rick.

“I’m thinkin’, I’m thinkin’” You could practically see smoke billowing from his ears and hear gears grinding away.

“Well, you better think of something fast,” Evie cast a desperate glance back at Nevi and Johnathan. “Because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the first one I’m coming after.”

Nevi felt Johnathan’s grip on her tighten in surprise and panic. Rick took a step forward, but Ardeth stepped in, grabbing onto his arm to hold him back.

“Don’t!” Evie turned back as she reached Imhotep. “He has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual.”

“She is right,” Ardeth’s voice was barely over a whisper but even in her brain’s panicked state, Nevi heard it clearly. “Live today, fight tomorrow.”

Rick looked pained, but resigned. “I’ll be seeing you again.” He glared at Imhotep, probably imaging a thousand ways in which to kill the mummy.

Nevi tried to walk forward but was stopped as Beni stood in her path. He shoved her aside and started riffling through Johnathan’s coat. “You leave him alone.” Nevi drew back her fist and let fly a punch. _I’m getting rather good at this._ It collided with the side of Beni’s face, making him stumble.

In response Beni shoved her over so she hit the ground, her torso screaming in complaint at yet another sharp impact with the ground, and yanked the key out of Johnathan’s pocket. “Thank you.” As he walked past Rick he added. “Good-bye my friend.”

Rick started after Beni but there was no time. As soon as the crowd closed around Imhotep and Evie, she heard the priest shout out in quick Egyptian and Nevi didn’t even need to translate it to know what that call meant. A call for killing. Nevi hauled herself off the ground and took in their situation. The crowd was closing in and there was nowhere to go. Rick grunted and Nevi saw the torch he had held in his hands spinning into the crowd. He squatted down and hauled the cover off a manhole. Hands shot out at her and Rick shoved her, just as unceremoniously as he had thrown her off the boat all those days ago, into the depths of what lay beneath the Cairo streets. “You first” echoing around her as his hands released her and her feet hit wet stone. A stench of bad water, moldy aquatic plants, and something unmistakably human waste, assaulted her senses. The all-encompassing dark blinded her after the torch filled world above. Sudden quiet made her feel as though she’d gone deaf. Feeling blindly in the dark, outside of the small ring of light the open manhole made, her fingers finally hit a slimy stone wall and she moved down the shaft a short way so that others could crowd in behind her.

It didn’t take long for Johnathan’s feet to appear in the opening. He stumbled towards her. Quickly followed by Ardeth, who thankfully had grabbed a torch from above. He exited the ring of light from the manhole and struck a match against the wall. It took a couple tries to light and Nevi heard him curse low in what she thought was ancient Egyptian. The match caught however and soon the pressing darkness was relieved slightly by the warm glow of fire. Not that it improved their situation much. Now Nevi could just see a gross dark tunnel going to the left and a gross dark tunnel going right. Ardeth held the torch out in front of him as Rick jumped in through the manhole.

Nevi paused, counting their ranks. “Where’s Dr. Bey?” Her voice echoed oddly in the round cavern.

Rick merely looked down and shook his head. Pushing his way between them and to the front. Nevi felt her heart tighten and her eyes sting. _For them… he sacrificed himself for them._ Johnathan looked down in respect and gave Nevi’s shoulder a tight squeeze before following Rick. He hadn’t known the curator well but Nevi had. As had Ardeth. The two stood there for a beat. Looking at the manhole, before looking at each other and sharing a moment of remembrance for their shared friend.

“Ardeth some light?” Rick’s call echoed down the channel.

Ardeth started towards it. Nevi felt his hand rest gently against her lower back, a way of ushering her along without the brusque action of pulling her along. She let him. The soft weight comforting her and sadness stung her when he pulled it away.

It was too much. Too much had happened in the past few days and despite herself she could feel her brain shutting down as they made their way through the sewers. The stress of the mummy rising, Evie possibly being sacrificed, Dr. Bey, and not to mention Daniels. In the dark it seemed like the images of his death haunted her more. Nevi stumbled along the cobbled walk of the sewers following Johnathan who was bombarding Rick with question about how they were going to get Evie back.

“This is likely a dumb question but, are you alright?” Ardeth’s soft voice was so quite it didn’t even echo through the tunnels. It still surprised her; how gentle he could be compared to the, honestly terrifying, Medjai chieftain that she had first seen.

Nevi looked up at him. She hadn’t realized how tall he was. She was tall for a woman and he was still a head or more over her. His hulking frame filling the little extra space there was in the tunnel. The torchlight flickered over his features and softened his dark eyes into ones of a puppy. Not telling him how she felt didn’t even cross her mind, it all spilled out. “It’s everything. Dr. Bey dying. Raising a mummy from the dead. I don’t know what I’ll do if Evie dies, her and Johnathan are all I have… and Daniels. I just keep seeing him being… I don’t even know what you would call it. Dehydrated to death?”

He was silent for a moment. Nevi immediately started to question if she should have been truthful. Maybe this was one of those times when someone asked if you were ok for politeness’s sake and all you were supposed to say in response was something like “yes of course I’m ok, why wouldn’t I be ok, always ok, perfectly fine good chap now chin up and carry on”, but she needn’t have worried. When he answered his voice was soft and thoughtful, “Your Evie will be alright. We will not let anything happen to her. As far as Daniels. It is never easy to watch someone die. Worse yet when it is a particularly terrible way to die. Unfortunately, time does not take the memory from you.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Nevi sighed, despondent.

“But,” Ardeth added glancing sideways and giving her a small smile. “Time does make it easier to deal with. Details will fade.”

Nevi felt a chip fall away from her anxiety and stress as she met his gaze. Returning his smile, “Well I suppose that’s all one can really ask for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully Ardeth doesn't seem to out of character in this. I always thought that when he wasn't around all the white people raising dead mummies that he was a lot more of a sarcastic, still kinda dorky young chieftain. I can see definite signs to him being more jokey and teasing when not super stressed at Medjai work so I figured it would poke through more when he's around someone he kinda fancies. If any of that made sense. I just mean he's not always a super serious Medjai chieftain man all the time :)


	12. Chapter 6.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to all the smut writers out there. Writing romance/ smut scenes that aren't weird or cringe or super corny is way harder then it always seemed. So hopefully this isn't too weird or cringe.

She saw Ammon freeze at her feet. Staring at the fabric on the ground. The cool night air hit her body full on and sent ripples of gooseflesh over her. Slowly his gaze started to work its way up her body. He went so slowly that she started to feel as if she’d made a mistake. She fidgeted. What was she supposed to do with her hands?! What if he got mad at her? Told her off for lying to him about her feelings. Her face was burning red. His eyes reached her hips and came into her view.

And she saw it. The hunger.

It rocked a new but different wave of uncertainty in her. Standing there naked as a newborn baby with Ammon looking at her like a starving man and she was the food that would save his life. She’d never even thought someone would look at her that way. Let alone him.

He stood. It made Nenet feel even more naked, more nervous, to look up into his hungry eyes instead of looking down. His hand reached out towards her. Nenet’s heart skipped, not knowing what to expect. Tenderly, Ammon brushed her hair behind her shoulder. His expression pained with want and Nenet had the sudden realization that it was her. Her. Her that was causing that look on his face and it warmed a pride in her. He stepped closer and hesitantly placed his hands on her waist. Fanning his fingers out over her skin, as if testing the waters. The lightening that pulsed through her skin at his touch made her gasp. It seemed to encourage him. Ammon’s wandering eyes met hers and he held her gaze as he bent ever so slightly and rested his hands over her ass.

“Ammon.” It came out a shaky, breathless, pleading whisper.

His hands were harsh against the cheeks of her ass. His fingers gripping into the flesh and rising her up like she weighed nothing. Nenet lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. Her naked body meeting his bare chest, making her melt. Their contact smearing the gold body paint that covered her. Running her hand through his hair, stopping so it rested on his jaw. She kissed him again. Long and passionate.

Ammon pulled his lips from hers slightly, “Are you sure?”

She wanted to laugh, she was naked clinging to him like a monkey on a tree, and still he had his doubts. But she just smiled, “No doubt in my mind. You could be the lowest slave in Egypt, and I- I would still love you, my Ammon.” A smile crossed his lips then, that was more like the smiles she knew and loved, relaxed and charming. “I should be asking you if you are sure though, Pharaoh could-,”

He cut her off with a kiss, only pulling away to move to her neck and start planting kisses and nibbling at the tender flesh there. It made Nenet’s eyes roll up in pleasure. He spoke with his lips still pressed tightly against her, “You are worth any punishment that Pharaoh could imagine.”

She hadn’t realized he’d been walking, until he began to lower her on the bed. Almost reverently like she was a precious, breakable thing. Ammon kissed her more, hovering over her body like if he came any closer, he would squash her. She wanted him to squish her though. Wanted to feel all of him pressed against all of her until they melded, became one, then no Pharaoh or Gods could separate them ever again. Craving closeness she reached up. Her hands finding the hem of his shendyt. She ran her hand up his thigh, pushing the fabric up, splaying her fingers wide to touch as much of his smooth brown skin as she could. Her fingers found small scars through the course hairs that covered his thigh, the story of his life as a warrior. She wondered what other signs she would find on him. Her thumb grazed near the inner part of his thigh, near his manhood, and Nenet felt his breath hitch and him moan into her mouth.

Nenet smiled. Hearing him moan sent a jolt of excitement into her bones. More. Her fingers found the knot that held the fabric on his body and she began to clumsily undo it. As her hands busied themselves, so did his. She felt his fingers slide up her thighs. One finger, gently slid between the lips of her womanhood. A soft pressure erupting against the small nub of her pleasure as his finger barely grazed it- again and again, as he spread her juices. Seeming to find a pleasure in the way that she squirmed under his touch.

Finally, the knot was undone and Nenet threw the cloth to the ground. Her eyes took him in. He was a gorgeous man. His dark copper skin, glinting in the moonlight, was perfect at showing off the mountains and valleys of his well-muscled physic. She hadn’t realized how many tattoos the Medjai received, but there were many, scattered around his body. Making Nenet want to find each one and inspect it in depth. Her eyes made their way down his torso until they reached, it. She felt her eyes widen and her face go slack. Nenet hadn’t seen one in person before… but then, one did not need to see hundreds- to know when you got a good one. It was big. Fully erect and shiny at the tip with his want. Her voice wasn’t even a whisper, “Oh.”

“What?” He looked down at himself and back up to hers. His brow furrowed in confusion, “Something wrong.”

“No,” she said quickly, not wanting to worry him. There was nothing wrong with _him_ , he was perfect as always. It was just, that, “Um- just… just, it’s… uh,” she leaned up on her elbows and held her hands apart in front of her. “It’s large.”

He smirked. That self-satisfied smirk that only men get when you stoke their ego. It slipped off his face quickly though, to be replaced by a gentle look. “We don’t have to do anything, if you don’t want to.”

“No, no I want to. But- um…” _I don’t see how it will fit,_ she wanted to say.

He leaned down and pressed an adoring kiss to Nenet’s forehead, whispering in her ear. “We’ll go slow. As slow as we need to.”

Nenet reached up and pulled him down on top of her. Wrapping her legs around his waist again and feeling his member press into her stomach. He moaned into her mouth and she knew. She wanted him. And only him. Could the Gods grant her one wish, it was this.

Ammon pressed kisses onto her neck as his fingers found her slick entrance again. This time though Nenet felt the pressure of one pressing into her. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it was going to fly out of her chest. The sensation of his kisses sending her mind into a fog. It surprised her when she realized that she was so ready for him that he had not one but two fingers in her. Moving slowly in and out but not giving her enough. She whined in need and thrust her hips up to him. He merely chuckled against her neck.

She felt a third finger at her entrance. Slowly he fitted it in next to his other two making her gasp at the stretching sensation. Wholly new to her. Her walls tight against his fingers. Nenet relished the feeling. A moan erupted deep in her throat and her hips moved, as if with a mind of their own, to meet his thrusts.

“Good girl.” Ammon’s voice was husky and dark with want in her ear.

His fingers worked rhythmically, curving in her just enough to brush against the sensitive areas of her walls. His lips moved down her neck. Finding a ticklish spot just in the dip of her collarbone making Nenet giggle and squirm against him. To which she got a deep laugh buried against her skin and more kisses to that spot. Only when her giggles got too loud and his fingers slipped from her due to her squirming did he` finally “shush” her. He looked up at her. And Nenet looked back to see an adoring look in his eyes and a highly amused smile pulling at his full lips.

“So loud priestess.”

“Well your beard tickles and if you di-,” she mewed, the rest of her sentence cut off by his mouth finding her nipple and sucking on it gently. His amused smile sunk into a smirk.

Nenet reached down and grazed her hand across his member. Ammon stiffened and moaned under her touch. He was fully rigid. “Nenet-,”

“I want you.”

Her words elicited a noise from him that clenched her stomach muscles and made her toes curl. It rumbled deep from within his chest, this primal reverberation, that could only be described as a growl. Ammon grabbed the inside of her knee and lifted her so that she was propped up on the edge of his thighs, so he had a better angle for entry. She braced her feet against his hips letting her legs fan open, giving him better access.

She expected to be nervous, panicky even, at the anticipation of Ammon entering her. She had never been with a man, had no idea what she was doing, but something about this felt so right deep in her being that all Nenet felt was excitement and an unbridled need for him to move just a little faster damn it! Ammon took the tip of his manhood and ran in between her folds, spreading her wetness over him. Then he was there, his tip pressing into her. Ammon held her gaze as he slowly pushed his length into her. Nenet’s back arched and she inhaled sharply. This was far different then his fingers had been. He touched every inch of her insides. She could feel her walls pulse around him, trying to adjust, and deep inside her the end point of her womanhood quake against the pressure of having him fully inside her.

He grimaced a little at the look on her face and began to massage her hips, willing her muscles to relax around him. Nenet felt herself loosen around him and as the initial shock of the pressure wore off, she swirled her hips against his. Letting him know she was ok.

Ammon let out a noise of surprise, “Do that again.”

Nenet did and Ammon grabbing her hips, began to match her movements. Then thrust cautiously in and out of her. As if testing the waters. The waters were amazing and he sped his movements up, propping himself on one hand so that his other thumb could work little circles over her clit.

She reached up around his neck and pulled him down a little farther so that their lips met. Together they matched each other’s movements. Becoming more and more erratic and needy as they neared their climaxes. Nenet’s walls quivered around him and felt the coiled tension of her muscles unwind rapidly, sending waves of pleasure up and down her spine all the way to her toes as they curled involuntarily. Soon after, Ammon pushed off her and towards the edge of the bed. Knees bent under him, almost bowing. His forehead pressed to her stomach and one hand clutching at her thigh he shook with the force of emptying himself. Nenet ran her fingers through his hair, savoring the feelings coursing through her body.


	13. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to post a new chapter. It hasn't been a great time for my mental health even before everything in the world decided to break at once. But hey! I'm back now and hopefully I can start up a solid schedule for posting new chapters until this baby is complete ^-^
> 
> More notes at the end

“Do we have any bright ideas?” Johnathan’s grumble called up from behind Nevi, his voice accompanied by the telltale squelch of a boot being unstuck from mud and an additional “gah!” of disgust.

“I warned you to mind that spot.” Even to Nevi’s ears her voice sounded miles away. Physically she could feel exhaustion eating away at her limbs. Telling her to stop moving. The jabbing pains from her ribs where they’d violently met the ground multiple times tonight weren’t helping. Every breath felt like her skin was stretching in an unnatural way. The full results of having been pulled from a car finally blossoming in lush bruises all over her body. She must be a sight. Honestly, she couldn’t care. Because mentally, she felt like it’d only be with dumb luck or chemical help that she’d ever sleep again. Talking with Ardeth had helped, for a time. The longer they pushed on through the Cairo sewers the harder it was to keep the hope up. They’d lost Evie… well, she’d left willingly, but it had still come to the end of her needing to choose to do that. Off who knows where with a living corpse that wanted to sacrifice her. _Dear Gods please let her be ok!_ When she could get her mind to quite about Evie it was filled with the last screams of Daniels. The images of his last moments playing through her head. So, she pushed on after Rick and Ardeth.

Rick’s loud curse reverberated down the sewer tunnel. Nevi’s brain defogged enough to focus on what was happening. Rick was shaking and kicking an iron grating blocking their path. “We can loop back to the last left we passed,” Ardeth said. The man was a machine. He didn’t even sound tired, unlike the rest of them. “That should lead us to neighborhoods, away from the British section of Cairo and the museum.”

Rick nodded, “Great, let’s go.” He turned and started past Nevi.

“Wait,” she said. “Shouldn’t we figure out what we’re doing first?”

“What?” He looked down at her, the exhaustion and stress evident on his face.

“We need a plan. How we’re going to get to Hamunaptra for Evie. There’s no point in walking down here all the way to some neighborhood if that’s not where we need to be. We’re just going to have to walk above ground to where we need to go and who knows if they’re still all zombified up there.”

“We need to keep moving!”

“Yes, we do!” Nevi’s voice rising to match his. “But in the correct direction. Not just in circles. We are on a bit of a time schedule here.”

Silence.

Rick looked pissed. Actually, more frustrated then pissed. _He’s a man of action._ Nevi had to remind herself. _As long as he’s doing something, it keeps the stress down._

“That does sound like a solid point mate.” Johnathan’s voice was quiet, but in the pervading silence of the tunnel it filled the space.

Rick sighed, resigned, “Yea, fine. Let me think a minute then.”

“Do you know someone who has a plane?” Ardeth’s voice said from her left.

She looked up at him. The fire flickering across his face creating deep shadows in the lines of his high cheekbones and strong jaw. It looked dramatic and mysterious. A picturesque image of the hero in an adventure novel. Complete with soft waves of hair falling to his shoulders. _He really should go without the turban more…_ Nevi realized she was staring and blushed, thanking her stars that his eyes were on Rick.

“What?”

“A plane. It would be the fastest way to get to Hamunaptra to stop the creature.” Ardeth said simply.

Rick’s brow furrowed in thought and he looked towards his feet. After a minute he nodded, “Yea- yes, Winston. We need to get to the train station.”

Ardeth inclined his head, “We should go down the last right then.”

It took them another hour to get out of the sewers. When Rick pulled Nevi out of the manhole the fresh air that hit her face was a fast relief. She’d gotten too used to how stale and smelly the air under the streets had been. As Rick pulled Johnathan out and Ardeth heaved himself up, she looked around. Their manhole was down a back alley. At the other end she could just make out the shapes of the shops around the train station. Looking up to the sky Nevi saw streams of deep indigo pushing their way through a dark navy blue. _It must be early, early hours of the morning,_ she thought, _just before dawn._ No wonder her limbs were dead, she’d been up for damn near 48 hours.

The creak of metal hit her ears as a sudden movement at the corner of her eyesight made her look to a balcony off one of the apartments down the alley. Two little boys were crouched on the balcony, staring at them. Their white shift robes glowing slightly in the coming light. When they noticed Nevi looking at them, they giggled and ducked down to try to hide behind the thin metal bars. Nevi smirked and gave them a little wave. In that giddy nervousness of children, they waved back. She sensed a body come up behind her, assuming it was Johnathan she didn’t bother looking back at them. The boys though, stopped their playful waving. Their faces going slack, mouths open in awe, and stood from their crouched positions slowly. Staring unblinkingly at whoever was behind her. _They wouldn’t do that over Johnathan._ Nevi glanced over her shoulder to see Ardeth. A kind but small smile gracing his face as he looked up at the boys, holding up his hand in a wave. The boys followed suit, each holding up a hand. _Why are they so fascinated by him?_

“We must go.” Ardeth said to Nevi, taking his eyes from the boys.

Nevi looked behind her in time to see Rick sliding the manhole cover over the opening they had climbed out of. And start heading past them to the mouth of the alley, Johnathan on his heels.

Ardeth gave the boys a little salute, to which they didn’t respond other than to continue to gap at him and Nevi and he followed Rick out of the alley. Nevi glanced behind them and saw the boys leaning over the balcony edge to watch them go.

^^^

It turned out that this plane Rick knew of was at an out posting of the British Fort, a 30-minute train ride outside of Cairo. And they were in luck. There was a train leaving for the out posting in five minutes.

After the train assistant told them this, they were so relieved that they didn’t even ask for a price of tickets. Nevi and Johnathan instantly pulled out their wallets to pay the assistant.

“No, no.” He said in a thick accent, shaking down the money that they offered him. He was bent in a slight bow, staring at his feet like he didn’t want to meet their eyes.

“ **Is it more?** ” Nevi asked, feeling Arabic may get them farther than trying to speak broken English.

“ **It is free Miss, please enter the train. Please.** ” With this he shot a hesitant glace beside her to Ardeth. Staring, Nevi noticed, mostly at the tattoos that crossed Ardeth’s cheeks.

“What’s he saying?” Rick asked behind her.

“He said it was free.”

“We should board. The train will leave soon.” Ardeth inclined his head to the man in that polite little bow he gave out so often. “ **Thank you, my friend.** ”

“ **Medjai,** ” the man said the word with such reverence it made Nevi raise her eyebrows in surprise. “ **It is an honor.** ”

Ardeth turned towards the rest of them, “Shall we?” Rick’s eyebrows were higher than hers and Johnathan looked confused, but both entered the train. Nevi climbed on after them and heard Ardeth say to the man “ **May all the Gods and Allah smile upon you.** ” Before following Nevi onto the train, the train assistant’s numerous thanks streaming after him.

They found four seats next to each other at the end of the train.

Rick turned to Ardeth, “What the hell was that?” He didn’t say it with anger but with a certain sense of urgency.

“What was what?” Ardeth’s face was one of polite interest. Like he didn’t know what had just happened with the train assistant was weird.

“Why did we get on for free?” Rick questioned. “What the hell are Medjai anyway?”

Ardeth blinked at him, “We are sacred warriors of God.”

“You say it like it’s so normal.” Nevi muttered.

Johnathan cut in, “How come I’ve never heard of you until now then?”

“We are a secret order.”

“If you’re so secret how come everyone seems to know you’re a Medjai?” Nevi asked, thinking back to the alleyway and the boys’ reaction to Ardeth.

He shrugged, “Secrets are hard to keep. Stories get passed down. Locals notice things.”

“Like sacred tattoos across your face?” Nevi asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Rick left out a quick, single, but not humorless laugh, “Well if there’s any more perks to being a Medjai besides free transportation let me know, might just sign up.” He muttered the last bit, glancing down the train car towards the direction of the engine at the head of the train. His leg beginning to bounce with impatience.

“Dunno mate, ‘warriors of God’ sounds like some kind of monk organization. No perks are worth having to go celibate over.” Johnathan shook his head sagely. “Not good for you either if you want to pursue Evie.”

“What?!” Rick blushed deeply and his leg bounced faster. “I don’t want to date your sister.”

“Oh please.” Nevi and Johnathan said at the same time, rolling their eyes.

“Your pursuit would be fine,” Ardeth said with a smirk. “The Medjai require no such commitment of abstinence.”

Nevi chuckled along with the other two as Rick glared at Ardeth. Her stomach doing a little swoosh, but she put it down to exhaustion and surprise that Ardeth was again capable of making jokes. From the little glimpses of it she thought he must have a good sense of humor but he always came off as so serious. _Well, you did meet him at a very stressful time. Raising the dead and all._

“Keep bouncing your leg like that and it’ll fall off.” Johnathan teased. “I won’t give you my permission to date my sister then.”

Instead of stopping he stood. “I’m going to go ask the conductor what’s taking so damn long.” And he walked to the train car door.

Nevi called after him, leaning past Ardeth slightly. “We’ve only been sitting here a few minutes. Just ignore Johnathan, he’s always a prat.” She waved down an ‘Oi’ from said prat, watching Rick’s frame disappear past the door to the next car. Nevi couldn’t deny she was anxious too but stressing out about it would only drain them before any real issues arose. And she felt drained enough already Right now, they just needed to trust they were on the right path, nothing would speed this up. Cairo trains ran on Cairo time and it was their quickest, and only, option to get to the outpost.

The three sat in silence for a few minutes. Nevi stared unseeing out the window, absentmindedly playing with her parents’ rings around her neck. Her mind with Evie and only vaguely aware of her surroundings now. Her body registering more than her mind a comforting warmth on her right side where her arm lay close to Ardeth’s on the arm rest.

It was only when he spoke that she was pulled from her thoughts. “You should try to get some rest. It will make the train ride go quickly.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“Are you sure? Your brother does not seem to have any trouble.” He said nodding his head towards Johnathan. Nevi looked over to see Johnathan, slack in his seat. His head tilted backwards on the head rest, mouth open, and soft snores issuing from him.

She quirked an eyebrow. “That’s just Johnathan. Any kind of stress and he’s out fast as lightening.”

“You should still try.”

“No, every time I close my eyes, I just see Daniels getting mummified by that thing.” She’d said it without thinking. _What is he going to think of me? He’s a warrior, he’s had to have seen worse things than that, and here I am continuously bringing it up and unable to sleep because of it._

Ardeth’s face didn’t confirm her thoughts however. Instead, as she looked at him his face softened into understanding and he nodded slightly. “The first mission I went on for the Medjai, we were led into a trap by someone we thought trust worthy of the information. What it came down to was us being ambushed.” He paused a moment. “I saw men die in front of me, and not in such horrible ways as Daniels, but I had nightmares for weeks after.”

“How old were you?”

“It was a month before my sixteenth birthday. I was allowed to go early because they needed the extra men.”

Nevi sat, stunned. She couldn’t imagine watching someone die in front of her at sixteen and being able to cavalierly talk of the tale. Even years after.

“My mom,” Ardeth continued. “Sat me down after a particularly bad one and told me to embrace the nightmares as part of healing. Just as one must clean a wound or it will fester even if it hurts to do so. The nightmares will help clean your mind of obsessing on the bad situation if you let them. Then they will stop all together.”

“Your mum sounds like a smart lady.” A soft smile gracing her lips.

“Very much so.” Ardeth appraised her for a moment. Apparently, she passed whatever test he was mentally giving her because he reached into his robes and pulled out a small metal flask. Unscrewing the top, he handed it to her. “Here.”

She took it cautiously and sniffed it. An intense smell of alcohol hit her nose and burned into her sinuses. She recoiled, nose scrunching, “What is it?”

He chuckled at her. “Alcohol. More immediately speaking, a drink can also help.” His accent curled around the words, making them sweeter and softer coupled with the tone of his voice. Nevi liked his accent. It was lyrical. Reminding her of her father’s Irish one. She liked his eyes too, she decided, as she looked into the deep amber color. Now glinting with slight amusement.

The soft snoring of Johnathan filled the silence between them. Nevi looked at Ardeth, deciding. To his credit he held her stare, still with the soft amused look on his face. So, she returned his smile, “Well, thank you.” She raised the flask in a silent ‘cheers’ and took a swig.

Instant regret.

She’d once tried American moonshine from a group of visiting academics at a dig. This was worse. The burn flooded her throat and spread like fire into her chest. She sputtered and clasped a hand to her mouth, willing herself to not spite it back up.

“Oh my god!” Her voice came out raspy. “That could peel paint.”

Ardeth chuckled and took the flask from her. Taking a swig of his own before re-stopping it and tucking it back into his robes. “Apologies. I should have warned you,” he said still chuckling at the face she was making.

“Yes, you should have.” She scolded smiling, giving a small laugh with him.

“You have to admit it does the job though.”

That it did. Where the burning sensation had charged though her, she now felt just a gentle warmth spread into her limbs relaxing her just enough to take the edge off the constant anxiety she’d been feeling for days. But then a thought occurred to her and her brow furrowed, “I thought Muslims don’t drink.”

“They don’t,” he said looking at her. “Medjai tend to fall somewhere between the old ways and the new.” Shrugging he added, “People like to drink.”

Talk of the illusive Medjai tribe he was a part of piqued her interest. “So, is there like… a Medjai city tucked away in the desert somewhere?”

He opened his mouth- to say what, Nevi would never know. At that moment Rick showed back up a grumpy look on his face as he shoved over Johnathan, who didn’t wake up, to get to his seat across from Nevi. “Next time you go.” He said pointing to Ardeth. “I had to bribe the guy to-,” he stopped as the train lurched. They were off. Rick smiled satisfied. “For that. Good, about damn time.”

They passed the ride in silence. Apart from Johnathan’s snores. At one point they got so loud that Nevi kicked him in the knee, to which he grumbled, didn’t even really attempt to smack out at her, and flopped his head back down. Sleeping again, with no snores this time. Nevi didn’t sleep. But she did feel better. Be it the alcohol or the talk with Ardeth, she couldn’t tell… maybe a combination of the two? He was nice to talk to, fairly easy going under that serious exterior.

^^^

The car they borrowed from one of the soldiers at the fort did not have good suspension. It bumped and thudded along the dirt road towards the derelict remains of a wall they were headed towards. Thankfully Nevi had gotten shotgun so she didn’t have to worry about being flung into Ardeth’s chest again. Not that she would mind necessarily but her mind was not for it at the moment. As soon as they had exited the train all her earlier fears and anxieties came flooding back. It had been hours since they had lost Evie. Hours. Who knew what state she was in now… but Nevi knew one thing. Imhotep had better pray that he hadn’t killed her. If he had, Nevi would never let that man’s soul find peace. If he truly thought that she had killed him in a past life then he better get ready for the new incarnation of her soul because Nevi was sure she could be far more creative then whoever she had been before.

First things first though. Get a plane.

She could see Rick’s friend now. He sat sipping tea next to a phonogram whilst a local youth held a large umbrella over his head. As they parked the car and walked closer Nevi made out more details. He was a fat man with a walrus of a mustache. Just like most of the elder English men she remembered from home. Definitely career military.

“Morning Winston,” Rick called out as they finally made it to the man. “Uh, a word?”

Rick explained as best he could without making it seem like they were crazy. Leaving out a lot of sticky details, like the fact that they were after a reanimated corpse or that the Americans they had been with were turned into jerky and not just killed, settling for a simpler narrative of kidnap and ‘bad men’.

Winston took it all fairly well. It was hard to read his face though. He piped up once Rick had finished his spiel. “What’s your little problem got to do with His Majesty’s Royal Air Corps?”

“Not a damn thing.”

“Is it dangerous?” Winston asked hopefully. _Odd man._

“You probably won’t live through it.”

“By Jove, do you really think so?” That was definitely excitement. _What the hell is wrong with him?_ Nevi, brows screwed up in concern and confusion, looked up and met Ardeth’s eyes. His face mirrored hers and he shrugged slightly. Well at least she wasn’t alone in thinking Winston was not running on all cylinders.

“Everybody else we’ve bumped into has died. Why not you?” Johnathan offered.

Winston leaned to the edge of his seat. “What’s the challenge then?”

Rick shrugged. “Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, and save the world.”

“Oh!” Winston jumped to his feet with surprising grace for a man of his size. Giving Rick a salute, “Winston Havelock at your service sir.”

“When we get Evie back, I would recommend not ever telling her you called her a damsel in distress, certainly won’t help you get anywhere with her.” Nevi said to Rick as they followed Winston to the landing strip where his plane sat.

Rick shot her a quick look, “Stop that. I don’t want to get anywhere with her.” Doing a very good mimic of her accent.

Nevi scoffed. She could almost feel Johnathan’s eyeroll behind her.

“My friend,” Ardeth said, amusement lacing its way into his voice. “I have known you for two days and even I can see that you do.”

Nevi laughed at the furious blush that crept flooded Rick’s face. He looked away from them, refusing to look at any of them now.

“I would listen to the lady Richard.” Winston called as they reached his airstrip. “In my experience beautiful women are always correct.” He reached out and took her hand giving it a large kiss. His walrus mustache tickling her skin. Nevi felt herself redden. She didn’t take direct compliments in public the best anyway, but as it was, she could feel the groups eyes on her and the space to her left where Ardeth stood was hot as the sun right now. She couldn’t take her eyes from Winston for fear of them snapping to Ardeth and meeting his eyes. She would die of embarrassment. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced,” Winston continued. “Winston Havelock, Miss?” He asked expectantly.

Trying to give him a small smile she answered, “Nevina Moore.”

“Ah-ha!” Winston beamed at her. “An Irish lass, I should have known, thought I heard a slip of the accent. You know my dear, though I am always happy to be of service to any lady in His Majesty’s kingdom, I have always found Irish lasses to be the best…,” he cupped Nevi’s hand now and it took a lot for her to not draw her hand back. “Company.” Winston finished with a wink.

Nevi’s eyebrows shot up and despite herself she felt a smile trying to force itself on her face. The entire past weeks of her life had been absolutely ridiculous… and now this.

“Winston.” Rick said exasperated.

Winston just laughed and shook Nevi’s hand a little before turning and heading into a hanger in the landing area.

The group was quite for a moment.

“Rick, your friend is a proper cheeky bastard.” Nevi said.

“Can people _please_ stop trying to sleep with my sisters?” Johnathan groaned loudly, adding with a point to Ardeth. “I’m watching you.” Before grabbing Nevi’s hand and following Winston.

Nevi felt a deep flush rush up her cheeks. Thank God Ardeth was behind her and couldn’t see it. Sure, she had thought about the two of them together, he was a handsome, dashing, warrior. Men like that only popped up in books not real life. But to actually have it suggested that _he_ would want _her_ back? No. She worked in a museum, not really the sexiest profession in the world. She was an orphan. An outsider. He probably had a wife back at his village or was promised to some Medjai princess. However the hell it worked.

Though… the idea of her lanky, twitchy brother threatening the solid mass of a man did tickle her funny bone quite a bit.

Nevi spent the next 30 minutes avoiding Ardeth’s gaze as they tried to hatch a plan.

The “plan”, if you could call it that, which Nevi didn’t think you could, was to strap them to the wings of Winston’s plane. Winston had tried to offer Nevi the seat behind the pilot but she had wholeheartedly refused. There was a machine gun at the back of the plane and it made much more sense to give Rick the weapon then her. So now she laid on her stomach across the left wing of the plane next to Johnathan. Ardeth took the other wing. The thought being that their weight combined would even out to more or less his given that he was a much larger person than either of them. Johnathan did not seem to appreciate the jokes Nevi sent his way about this.

Honestly though? It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. Once she got over the brain crunching, stomach dropping panic of basically free flying through the air, it was glorious. The warm gusts whipping across her face was so pleasant. Almost meditative. Nevi had turned down the aviator cap for a tightly tied scarf over her hair, and was happy she had. This had to be what birds felt like. Soaring around. Taking in the amazing views. By Gods those views!

Nevi never imagined she would see the desert from this perspective. Rolling dunes of sand and steep cliffs of khaki and red rock. A couple times she saw the far-off evidence of oasis. She could just imagine getting closer and seeing the bright colored tents of a nomad tribe scattered around it like colorful beads embroidered on tan linen. The crystal sky and that bright sun just made the whole experience like a scene from a dream.

This was heaven.

It took her by surprise when Rick’s voice came from behind her, dampened by the wind. “Are you two all right?”

Johnathan screeched, “Do I bloody look alright?”, at the same time that Nevi exclaimed, “This is amazing!”

She heard Rick laugh at them but couldn’t care less.

Johnathan turned as best he could and despite the flight cap and goggles, she could tell he was looking at her incredulously. “Are you insane?”

Nevi just laughed. But it was cut short by a burst of popping? Loud metallic clanging? Words. Nevi twisted around against the strap holding her to the plane and felt her breathe freeze in her lungs. A huge wall of sand was advancing on them. That was no normal sand storm. Beside her Johnathan’s loud swear was taken away by the wind as the center of the sand wall formed into a grotesque face. The mouth of it opened and Nevi screamed.

She screamed louder as that moment the plane took a sudden nose dive over a cliff and they were thundering straight to the ground. The plane leveled out and they were skidding across the top of the sand. The wall caught them in mere minutes.

Nevi felt the granular blanket engulf her body as Winston hollered to the winds, “Here I come ladies!” Her vision went black.

Winston’s maniacal laugh added to the cacophony of screams, metal scratching on metal, and the overwhelming hollowness of the air, as though all the oxygen had been sucked out, as they tumbled. And tumbled. Nevi lost track of which way was up, down, or even what was her body and what was the sand. It must have been seconds but felt like hours. Hours of endless sensory deprivation. Ending in a spine shattering jolt.

She was sure she truly did black out for a moment at impact. As her eyes opened slowly, she was sure which way was right side up. Just as she was sure she was not there. Nevi felt gravity pulling her backwards against the straps holding her to the plane. Then she felt Johnathan’s elbow jabbing into her side as he wiggled around to try to set them free.

A soft thump and some mild swearing told her that Rick had at least managed to free himself and evidently Johnathan had heard because he twisted more violently, saying. “Um, a little help would be useful… if it’s not too much trouble!”

“Stop. Stop!” Nevi pinched at his ribs to quiet him. “Just give me a moment.” She pulled herself towards the edge of the wing to give herself something to hold onto before reaching down into her boot and pulling out the knife that Rick had loaned her all those days ago. It was much safer and easier to have it in your boot then on your belt in Cairo as woman and she thanked the Gods that she had one, remembered it, and two, it had not fallen out in the crash. She sliced at the thick leather of the strap before it snapped under the steel.

Johnathan thudded to the ground and Nevi followed him. Landing ungracefully on her ass with a wholly unladylike grunt. Nevi huffed and swore under her breath. She pulled off the aviator goggles. The scarf had flown off her head in the storm and her hair had fallen out of its intricate pinned up do; now her waist length hair was flying everywhere. Including her mouth. She could feel sand over every inch of her and it did not need facilitated into her mouth by her traitorous hair. To her left she heard Rick stumble up to the cockpit, yelling at Winston, asking if he was alright.

She knew that Johnathan was to her left as well, laying on the ground still and swearing some truly prodigious statements under his breath. Nevi’s heart faltered. Where was Ardeth? She couldn’t hear him and he had been on the other side of the plane. Her breathing quickened and hands began to shake as a million possibilities ran through her head. Dear God, what if he fell off during the windstorm and was miles away? They’d never be able to find him in the desert. Not when they needed to get to Evie.

“Ardeth?” She spoke with far more urgency then she had wanted to and a deep blush crept up her face when his head popped around the tail of the plane. His brows furrowed in concern and the machine gun from the plane set over his shoulder.

“Yes? Are you- I mean is everyone alright?”

“Bloody smashing.” Johnathan grumbled from his prone position.

Nevi smacked him. “Yes, we’re fine. Just- just making sure you were.” Ardeth inclined his head in that little bow of his.

“Not how I thought my first plane ride would go, but perfectly alright. Thank you for the concern. Would you like a hand?”

_Concern? Was it weird to show such concern for him?_ She slipped her palm into his, feeling roughened skin of hands that had been well used, words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them as Ardeth pulled her to standing. “Well yes of course, I mean to say that it is our fault you’re out here to begin with.” _Ooo, yes that was good. Not truly untrue but not really THE truth._ “We would feel just awful if someth-.”

Her ramblings were cut short as she made to take her first step away from the plane, Ardeth’s hand still wrapped around hers so she could find her balance. The thing was, her foot wouldn’t move.

She twisted to see her foot sunk to the ankle in the sand.

“Quicksand!” Ardeth yelled to the others whilst giving Nevi’s arm an almighty tug with his one free hand. He only needed the one hand though; Nevi felt the brute strength reverberate up her arm. Her foot finally releasing from the sand with a sucking squelch that hit at a deeply rooted, deeply sore spot in her chest.

She had once been stuck in a cave in and had found out the hard way that at the very core of her soul was an all-encompassing phobia of being buried alive. Nevi had no clue why, she wasn’t particularly claustrophobic, but stick her in a situation where the ground engulfs her into its bottomless bosom and, nope- nope nope nope nope nope. Her breathing had quickened to a rapid place. She didn’t even glance up as Johnathan and Rick pulled themselves away from the plane. Nevi stared at the spot where her foot had been engulfed and a chill coursed through her. Images of her head disappearing into the earth, of sand pouring its way into her throat as she struggled to breath and the ground compressed her chest as she sank lower and lower into darkness. No hope of being pulled out into the light again.

The only thing keeping her from a full-blown panic attack was the reassuringly solid chest pressed against her back and the accompanying arm wrapped around her shoulder. He still had a hold on her hand and she felt it give hers a squeeze. It occurred to her that he could feel her panicked breaths, perhaps even feel the erratic beating of her heart. He was so warm and so real.

There was no way she was sinking into the earth. She was not being engulfed.

Her breathing started to regulate.

But she looked up to see the plane sinking nose first into the sand. Winston still in the cockpit, having greeted death with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to thank everyone who has read this, commented, and/or left kudos. It really means a lot to me. I couldn't be happier with the reception this fic has gotten and it's really just super encouraging to continue it. Rest assured I have not abandoned it or anything.
> 
> Like always though constructive criticism is welcome and I will have more up soon!


	14. Chapter 7.5

Nenet rolled over to face the early morning sun streaming through the opening out to her balcony. A weight on her stomach unmoving as she turned. _A weight?_ She blinked her eyes open and a soft smile crept onto her face.

Ammon’s eyelashes were fluttering slightly over his cheekbones. His face calm with sleep. His breath softly gusting across her shoulder through his slightly parted lips. Early morning sunlight seeped into the room, bringing with it a gentle breeze that fluttered the almost transparent linen that draped her balcony entrance. This was contentment. Nenet laid there soaking up the feelings flooding her newly awakened brain. She felt no different really, but somehow, she knew that she would never be the same woman that she was before last night. Yes, it was the first time she had laid with someone but that wasn’t it. It was deeper than that. A soul change not a bodily one. That was it. Her soul. He had it now. Ammon was now the keeper of her soul, her being, and she could only hope that those feelings were reciprocated. He had said after all that he loved her. _But was love the same?_ Some how she knew the answer was no. This was more then love and thankfully it wasn’t need. She wanted him with all that she was. Wanted. To be around him would be good enough but if she could hold him, _by Gods_ , how much would it hurt if he just loved her. Nenet sat up at the thought. If this was going to be a momentary thing that his heart could shove to the side in a few months and they would have to pretend never happened or didn’t connect them like she felt connected? _Too much, it would hurt too damn much…_

“You are so beautiful.”

The quiet noise startled Nenet out of her thoughts and she looked down to see Ammon staring up at her with half opened eyes and a little smile pulling up the edges of his cheeks.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

“I am.” He closed his eyes again and snuggled into the curve of her waist and hip. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine.” She said quickly.

He raised his head to look at her, an eyebrow quirked. “Are you sure?”

_Damn, that was too quick… elaborate._ “I slept fine. No weird dreams or anything. Actually, it’s been the first time in months that I’ve fallen asleep in bed and not by the divining pool.”

He laid his head back down and she felt a chuckle rumble from his chest into her leg and up into her spine. Leaving her with an odd tingling feeling and the strong desire to run her fingers through his hair. “That’s good. I would have to imagine that this bed is more comfortable than those hard stones.”

“Yes, it is.”

At that Ammon sat up so his head was level with her shoulder and placing himself within a hair’s width from touching her arm with his. Nenet could feel his energy jumping to her, like lighting hitting a sand dune. With similar result her arm felt like glass. One touch too hard from him and she would shatter into millions of pieces.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Nenet tried to shrug but only made a small jerking motion to avoid hitting his shoulder with her arm. Instead she concentrated on making small pleats in her linen blanket, so intent on her hands that she missed the look of heart break flash across Ammon’s face.

“Do-do you regret last night?”

“What?” Nenet’s head shot up, her fingers losing her work, to see him with a furrowed brow staring intently at the reed width worth of space that separated their thighs. “No, I don’t regret it. Do you?”

“Never.” He gently brushed Nenet’s hair behind her shoulder, still not looking at her. “Why are you acting so weirdly then?”

“You’ll think I’m silly.”

“No, I won’t. Not if it’s something that’s genuinely bothering you.”

“What if it makes you not want to see me anymore?”

“Nothing could do that.” Ammon said softly. Finally looking up into her face, his deep brown eye comforting pools of onyx. Nenet could feel herself sinking deeper and deeper into them.

“It’s nothing really, just over thinking.”

Ammon sat up all the way. His back straight against the wall and her head now level with his shoulder. “You know- this was my first. Not just my first time laying with someone but my first time seeing someone and thinking that they could have all my being. I would gladly hand it over for just the presence of them around me. He spoke in such a whisper that Nenet, even as close as she was to him, had to strain her ears to hear his words. “You need not give any thing of the sort in return… but I want you to know where I stand. On this. On us.” With his last words he looked her in the eyes again. Finally, the onyx pools pulled her under.

“It was my first as well. For all of it- what you said. I’ve never felt like I wanted someone in my life as much as I do with you. Not that I needed them there but that I wanted them as a part of my life. For as long as I could have them.”

A quick smile spread across Ammon’s face, white teeth glittering against his dark brown skin that shone in the early morning sunlight. “Then I’ll whisper it no more,” he leaned down and brushed noses with her, pushing her gently on her back and settling himself between her legs. “You can have me forever.” His voice was steady and resound as his soft lips met hers and Nenet forgot how to breath. “Is that what you were worried to tell me?”

Nenet just ‘hmmmmed’ in response as the feeling of his lips lingered on hers.

“No one can take that from us.” He added and leaned down trailing kisses along her neck. Igniting little fires beneath her skin, burning away her ability to form coherent thought. No one, no one could take this. Nenet basked in the thought, the feeling, until one face swam into her vision.

“Pharaoh.”

“What?” Ammon jerked away like her skin finally burned him back. His eyes darting straight to the door.

“What about Pharaoh? He can’t find out about this.” Nenet could feel the panic rising in her chest, stomping out the delightful fire that had just seconds before been roaring there. “I- I don’t honestly know what he would do but I don’t think this would be allowed.”

Ammon’s body relaxed a little but Nenet could tell his mind was swirling as much as hers was. “Then he won’t find out. We’ll be careful.” He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. “I promise.”

Nenet must have still looked worried because he rolled back on top of her and took her face between his hands. She could feel the rough calluses against her smooth cheeks as he rubbed his thumbs against them. Petting her almost but it did serve to slow her heart beat.

“We may never be able to have anything official but I swear this to you now. You have my loyalty. My passion and my friendship. My shoulder to lean on and my ears to listen. You have my love Nenet, in any way that I can give that to you.”

“I want you to be safe.” Nenet’s vision blurred as she fought down tears that his words had moved from her.

“I feel safe with you.” And he placed a peck on the tip of her nose.

“Then I give you the same. In this room and in my heart, we are equal and one.”

Ammon and Nenet spend most of the morning tangled together. Either slowly enjoying the pleasure of each other’s body or in a dreamlike state, not quite sleeping but not conscious enough to be awake. It was noon by the time they made their way out into the public areas of the palace. It felt to Nenet like all eyes were on them. She kept having to tell herself that it was just her over anxious brain that was telling her that everyone knew. Knew their secret and would run to Pharaoh about it.

“Nenet my dear where have you been all morning?”

Nenet spun at the sound of Pharaoh’s voice. There he stood with Anck-su-namun to his left and Nefertit to his right under a large sun screen held aloft by four slaves. Behind him followed Imhotep and Upton, each shadowed by a slave who held a sun screen over them.

“Oh! Good afternoon Pharaoh. I’ve been…,” Nenet tried to wrack her brain for an excuse. She couldn’t say she’d been laying in bed all morning. That would raise too many suspicions. “I’ve just been tending the royal garden.” The royal gardens were where her and Imhotep got all their herbs and plants used for spirit work, large expanses by the Nile where flowers, herbs, foods, and so much grew in abundance. It was a place Nenet wasn’t really suppose to go to. It was also a place she was very known to go to and was far enough away from the normal stomping grounds of palace residents that it wouldn’t be weird no one had seen her all morning. Thankfully she’d put on a fairly drab garment today as well.

“Now Nenet,” Pharaoh said in a good-natured fatherly tone of fake scolding. “When will you learn, you needn’t go there and toil away. There are slaves and lower priestesses to do that work.”

Nenet hung her head in an attempt at humility and filled her voice with as much meekness as she could. “You are correct of course Pharaoh. It just brings such a calmness to my soul.”

“No matter dear girl. I was just giving our guests a tour of the palace. I had hoped you might join us, We had thought you might be ill after the festivities last night and were about to send someone to check on you. You fulfilling your wild spirit is a much better alternative I think.” Nenet smiled at her Pharaoh and he returned it in full. “Besides, at least we know you were well looked after.” He said with a final gesture towards Ammon.

Ammon had snuck himself behind Nenet as was the proper way for them to walk and she could see his shadow before her moving it’s head in a formal bow. At the same time her eyes caught movement behind Pharaoh and saw Upton turn to whisper something in Imhotep’s ear. Imhotep’s eyes widened and his eye brows rose while Upton spoke before a truly unsettling look came to rest on his face. He straightened himself again and stared at Nenet with a disgusting smirk on his face. A chill went down Nenet’s spine and despite the total warming heat of the day she felt cold. _What did he know? What did Upton know?_

“Nenet?” The concern in Pharaoh’s voice is what snapped her back out of her thoughts.

“Yes? What? I am so sorry Pharaoh I didn’t hear what you said.” She tried to look sheepishly guilty without looking away from Imhotep. Nefertiti to his side looked thoroughly worried about her now.

“I said join us for lunch. You and I have much to discuss. Since your appointment as Keeper of the Sphinx we have not taken some critical steps. Come now.” He walked towards the dark, cool entrance to the palace that would relieve them of the Egyptian heat. Anck-su-namun and Nefertiti followed. With Titi casting only a small glance of concern over her shoulder at Nenet. As Nenet waved off her look she felt a presence settle itself to her side.

Imhotep, under the guise of sharing his sun screen with her had matched her stride and now walked beside her. That insufferable smirk still on his face. “My dear priestess, moon to my sun, I have just heard a delightful bit of information. Perhaps I could pick your brain about it after lunch?”


	15. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it has taken this long for an update. I swear I'm trying to get better at it. I'll say more about it in the end of chapter notes but for now please remember that I do NOT have more then a basic understanding of Egyptian religion. I AM talking out of my ass for most of what I say about their culture or religion (I do try to Google but if nothing comes up immediately I just do my best), which means this is not historically accurate. Nor do I think it needs to be since, let's face it, the movie sure as hell wasn't :)

Nevi squinted against the harsh desert sun. She had her hand up trying to block it from hitting her face but a fat lot of good it was doing. The rotating orb of fire millions of miles into the sky was relentless in its assault. It felt five times bigger than it should. At times the reflection off the sheen of the sand blinded her to the point that Johnathan walking in front of her totally disappeared in a flash of white. She’d used a bit of rope he’d found in his pocket to secure her long hair into a thick braid that now rested over her shoulder, gleaming reddish in the harsh sun and increasing Nevi’s feeling of being on fire.

On they had to trudge though. They had to be getting close. Rick was in front of the pack following whatever map he had laid out in his head that was supposed to hone in on Hamunaptra. Johnathan stumbling along after him. Having known him for years Nevi could see the outer shell of dodgy behavior and silly remarks start to break around him. The closer they got to the dead city the more worry she could see set in on Johnathan’s shoulders. She couldn’t blame him. It was only with a disassociated observance that she could now think of Evie in the hands of that reanimated corpse. If a being were capable of creating such a powerful destructive force as that sand wave what was he capable of doing to Evie? What was he doing to her now and how the hell were they going to stop him? A passage from a book didn’t seem powerful enough to do that. Let alone the facts that they still had to find the book, not knowing 100% if it was even in Hamunaptra, and translate the passage correctly all before an ancient Egyptian priest who probably had all his spells memorized killed their sister. Yea… Nevi could see why Johnathan was becoming more fretful. It was more real now. They needed a real plan.

“Here.” Ardeth’s voice shook her from her thoughts once more and this time she was truly grateful for it. He had chosen to close up the back of the group. Tucking them between the two true fighters in their little group. He looked quite a sight too. The machine gun from the plane held over his shoulders with a length of cartridge belt slung under it. He doesn’t look scared at all. Just another routine adventure. In his hand not supporting the machine gun he held out a length of rough-hewn black fabric.

“It will not keep the sun from blinding you but it will keep it off of your face.”

“Oh, thank you.” As she took it their fingers brushed together and Nevi felt a rush go through her abdomen. It swirled like the cyclone of sand that had just crashed their plane. She stumbled a little at the sensation. Ardeth reached out and clutched onto her elbow to help steady her. Nevi could feel her face ignite with a deep blush and righted her footing quickly. Thankfully they were walking along a small ridgeline of solid rock and not wading their way through loose piles of sand along a dune. “Sorry, sorry,” she mumbled as he slowly let go of her elbow. Clearing her throat, she added, “Thank you,” trying to make it sound both sincere and like she wasn’t embarrassed about her always making a fool of herself in front of him.

“Of course.” He inclined his head in that little bow again. Sending Nevi’s heart into a weird rhythmic flutter. Seriously though, you can’t be turned on by how a guy moves his head. You’re getting ridiculous now, he’s just being polite. But he is so polite she reminded herself. It really was a sweet quality for a big warrior man, especially one that currently had a large gun slung over his shoulders. “You should not fret for your sister either. We will be there soon.”

“I think I’ll feel better once we get there. This all feels like more waiting.” Nevi said as she laid the fabric over her hair and around her shoulders. It was stiff enough that it created a little shelf above her face that immediately cut the harshness of the sun. But smell of it caught her. It was musky in a pleasant way, holding that same distinctly male scent that she had gotten from him all those days ago on the boat. But there were underlying notes of sandalwood and sage. It was topped off by the lingering of wood smoke and the luscious earthy smell of sand and wind. It oozed the essence of the desert and Nevi loved it. If they ever found a way to bottle this, she would dose her house in it. “Thank you again, this is much better.” Nevi smiled up at him from under the shelter of the fabric.

Ardeth had an odd look in his eyes. They were hooded in an almost sleepy expression but he was staring at her smile with an all too awake intent. He was biting the very inside of his bottom lip, thoughtfully. The combination made her knees feel like jelly. He looked away quickly once he realized she was now looking at him, “I am glad,” was his simple response and continued to look stoically ahead.

I wonder what he was thinking about… Nevi felt a tightening in her chest. Was she wearing the scarf incorrectly? Did she do something to upset him? Maybe she was annoying him. I mean I’m kind of annoying myself at this point.

It wasn’t her worry. If she had then Nevi would deal with it later, if there was a later, right now Evie had to be her only concern.

“I for one would love to get to the creepy haunted city, if it means getting out of this blasted sun.” Johnathan griped in front of them.

“Well you’re in luck.”

Rick’s voice reached them mere seconds before the ruined buildings dissolved out of nothing from the desert air.

-

The group ducked under crumbling stone archways and passed obelisk structures many stories high as they made their way as quietly as possible towards the center of the city. Unsure where Imhotep and his imagined minions might be, every shift of the sand or creak of ancient stone set their nerves more on edge. Expecting attack at any moment and being met only with the peculiar stillness of abandoned desert.

“So, what the hell does this Horus guy look like anyway?” Rick asked as they reached a side door off the largest building left in the ruins.

“He’ll be a big lad, most likely gold, with a falcon head.” Nevi said as they searched the large, smooth door for any way to pull it open.

“It must be an exit door,” Ardeth offered after a few minutes searching and coming up empty.

“Meaning?” Jonathan asked as Rick all but slammed his body weight against the unmoving slab, trying and failing to move it, but now rubbing his shoulder and looking thoroughly irritated. At himself or the door was up for debate.

“It can only be opened from the inside. You are meant to only exit from this door.”

“Why the bloody hell would you have that?’ Johnathan said alarmed.

At the same time Rick started in with “That does the opposite of helping us! As a matter of fact, that really fucking does not help us.”

“Shut it the both of you.” Nevi mused calmly. Her mind already racing with what she knew about ritual practices and ancient temple layouts. “It helped facilitate cleansing after ritual.” She told them quickly, then turning to Ardeth said. “If that’s true then there should be a skylight up there right?”

Ardeth looked up where Nevi was pointing. The building stepped up to its full height in segments, much like a Mayan pyramid than those of Giza. The one they faced now with the door in it being the first level and therefore the roof that was directly above it would drop into that chamber.

“Correct.” He said with a smirk. They had a plan.

The skylight in question ended up being not much bigger than two feet by maybe a foot and a half. Not a lot of room to work with.

“And this helps us how?” Rick stared doubtfully at the square.

“Well I can fit in there. I figure you two lower me down as far as you can,” Nevi pointed at Ardeth and Rick. “Then I push the door open from the inside,” Nevi laid down on her stomach and stuck her head through the hole. The sun cast just enough light in for her to see that the walls of the corridor were just wider than the skylight. She could see the door and also that the floor wasn’t too far away but enough that she could still injure an ankle if she fell dodgy. That was the last thing they needed right now. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything odd I could fall on.”

“You really think you can fit in there?” Johnathan said.

Nevi gave his leg a slap, “Oi now,” she threatened. Johnathan jumped back exclaiming and rubbing his calf. “You watch it. Unless you want to be the one who goes into the dark creepy corridor.”

“Urm- no love, no I think I’m good up here.”

“As I thought. Right then,” Nevi swung up into a sitting position with her legs dangling into the skylight. “Shall we chaps?” She held her arms up so Ardeth and Rick could each grab a hand.

“Are you sure about this?” Rick looked doubtful.

“Says the man who threw himself against a stone slab to try to get in.”

“Well, ye- but, this doesn’t… we really can’t find a safer way?”

“Oh, probably yes but last time we had to propel down a rope and that took forever. Safer quite possibly, quicker no. Now hush up and give us a hand.” Nevi waggled her hands in their direction.

“Fair enough.” Ardeth shrugged and took her hand. Nevi took it as a sign of her great love for Evie that she was able to ignore the whooshing sensation it sent through her stomach. Glaring Rick down until he sighed in resignation and took her hand.

“Make sure you bend your legs when you drop and roll a bit or-.”

“Or I’ll break my legs, thank you yes, I know. I’ll be fine.”

“She is a professional at jumping from lattice. This can’t be much different.” Johnathan said. Which in Johnathan was his way of saying he had nothing but confidence in her ability to not break herself.

“Lattice like on a building? Why are you jumping off lattice?”

“To get out of windows.”

“Why the hell were-.”

“Never you mind. I’m sure all the sordid details would just make a posh lad like you faint at the audacity.” Nevi smirked at him, well aware that Ardeth was looking at her now with a raised brows. Johnathan always made her look like such a tart. She slide off the stone and was soon suspended in air. It didn’t take long for Nevi to be dangling in midair in a shaft of light surrounded almost entirely by pitch dark.

“Ok, I think you’re going to have to drop the rest of the way. Is it far?” Rick grunted from above as he and Ardeth lay prone on the roof above her.

The ground was still about five feet away, much farther than she would have liked, but she had little other choice. What were they going to do? Haul her ass back up? “Yea it’s alright. Drop me down.”

“Count of three. One… Two… Three!”

A quick rush of air and a plummeting of her stomach was all Nevi registered before her feet smacked against the ground. She bent and rolled as best she could but it was probably more like 6 feet and the loose sand that now covered the hall stone floor unsteadied her landing. Nevi rolled out of the shaft of light in a pillowing of sand. She opened her eyes to the pitch black of the hall leading into the temple.

“Nevi. Nevi!”

“Oi love, you alright.”

“Do you see her?”

Nevi huffed. She could feel every one of her bones twinging. Thrown from a car, thrown to the ground, thrown into a sewer, plane crash, and now jumped into a dark tunnel. “I’m fine! I’m fine,” she stood grumbling, “Be nothing but a giant bruise after this.” and walked back under the skylight to see the three men leaning over the opening looking too close to a lot of school boys in search of their potato gun projectile.

“Answer faster next time.” Johnathan scolded.

“I answered soon as you asked. Now will you get over to that door.”

-

The old stone hinges creaked and groaned as Nevi pushed her body weight against the stone slab. It was unwilling to move easily. Her feet slipped and slid over the soft sand that had piled up on the hard stone floor over the eons. Leaving Nevi with exceedingly little traction to aid her.

Eventually she got it budged enough that the men on the other side could fit their fingers in the gap and pull while she continued to push. Her feet had finally found the stone floor beneath the sand and it gave her boots a far better grip. Time seemed to slow as the group yanked and tugged on the ancient stone door. Nevi judged their progress by the ever more complete forms of three sets of hands that appeared around the door. Johnathan’s slender fingered, aristocratic scholar hands, Rick’s blunt tipped, worn down nailed, adventurer hands, and Ardeth’s tattooed, elegant but strong warrior hands. The analysis of how you could so blatantly tell such differences between the three while they worked at the same task together, just from their hands, lived briefly in Nevi’s brain until the door shifted just right and the hinges gave way.

Nevi was thrust into the harsh and abrupt sunlight of the Egyptian day. She stumbled, trying to regain her balance with the stability of the stone door lost. Right into arms clad in dark robes. Tattooed fingers gripped her upper arms, catching her from falling right into his chest and righted her. Nevi avoided looking directly at Ardeth, trying to hide her deep blush, as she apologized and thanked him for keeping her from falling on her face. She walked over to Johnathan and he handed her a torch.

“Always such a clutz.” He teased.

“Shut it and go.” Nevi grumbled, pushing him into the temple after Rick, who had gathered his bags and was already half way down the hall. Nevi heard Ardeth gather the machine gun, pick up a torch, and follow them in. She blushed again at the so recent memory. Cringing at the thought of him walking behind her.

They twisted and turned down a few hallways. Their torches only penetrating a few feet into the darkness surrounding them. The quiet of the passages sounded too loud to Nevi’s ears. Even after the quiet of outside, the creaks of stone and rustling of sand gave some sort of illusion of habitation. Here they got nothing. Just a deafening pressure of ears too alert. Too strained with trying to hear something and being met with nothing. Not even their feet made noise on the sand covered stone. The phrase ‘quiet as the grave’ came to Nevi’s mind. _And why not. It is the City of the Dead, a necropolis, after all._

The passage stayed unchanging until they hit a dead end. To the left a staircase leading down, farther into the bowls of the lost city. To the right, another passage that led straight and constant as the eye could see, right into darkness.

“Well, which way do you reckon?” Johnathan asked the group. His voice all too loud in the gloom though he whispered.

“The left.”

Nevi said it quickly. An instinct. Like when you’re asked your childhood house number. Her brain didn’t think of the answer, it just knew it.

“Why’re you so sure?” Rick questioned.

_Because it popped out of my mouth from the recesses of my mind before I could think about it, jeez Rick._ “Um, well.” She had to think of something that would make her seem less crazy then that. “Think about it. Last time we were here we only found artifacts when we were deep within the city. Plus, that way,” she used her torch to indicate the passage of all-encompassing blackness to the right. “Looks all too much like that way.” Pointing the torch behind them into the passage of all-encompassing blackness they had just walked down. “For my liking, I don’t know about you.”

The three men took turns looking between the three choices.

“Good enough for me.” Ardeth spoke up first. “The ceremony chambers in Hamunaptra are supposed to be deep underground.”

“Underground it is then.” Rick said, starting towards the top steps.

“Fantastic, a creepy staircase leading into the dark.” Johnathan hesitated behind Rick.

“Well you can always stay up here while we all go.” Rick’s voice called from half way down the stairs.

Johnathan took a brief look at his surroundings. “I shouldn’t bloody think so.” He grumbled and followed after Rick swiftly.

Nevi chuckled after them. As her foot hit the first step, she heard it. A quick, quiet, but distinct whisper. She whipped around. Looking around Ardeth down the passage that they chose not to explore. Straining her eyes into the unforgiving darkness trying to discern some shape.

“What?” Ardeth asked, looking behind him down the passage as well.

“Didn’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I swear I heard someone talk. A female someone.”

To his credit, Ardeth didn’t laugh. Didn’t even look at her like she was crazy for hearing voices. Instead he quieted, quieted his entire being. No longer did he drum his fingers on the machine gun he was carrying over his shoulder. He stopped grinding his foot into the sand on the floor and his breathing became eerily quiet. He listened. For a long moment he actually listened. Nevi almost hoped that whoever it was would speak again.

“What did she say? Could it have been an echo from your Evie?”

“I didn’t catch what it said. Didn’t sound like English though.”

Ardeth cast one more look over his shoulder. “Do not fret about it. There are many ghosts in a place such as this.”

“Comforting.” Nevi mumbled, turning back to the stairs. Staring down the narrow, spiraling stone channel she couldn’t help thinking, it looked like a stairway to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So on the note of updating quicker I think I found my problem. I edit the hell out of anything I write. I never think the editing is good enough to post so I'm going to cut down on that and post chapters sooner. So that at the end of writing this I'll have at least a basic copy before me that I can go back and tweak in it's entirety and repost the tweaked version :) hopefully this works and means that I get chapters out quicker then my current schedule of one every 6 months or so.


	16. Chapter 8.5

Nenet sat stiff as a board while the servants laid out lunch before them. Pharaoh was at the table head with Anuck-su-namun and Nefertiti to either side of him. Nenet was next to Nefertiti and stared at Imhotep and Upton across the table. She wished that not having to sit next to Imhotep was a comfort to her but the opposite was playing out. Each little whisper between him and Upton, each knowing smirk they cast, sent a new rail into her already tensed to snap back. The only small reprieve she had was the flow of warm energy from Ammon as he stood behind her in line with the rest of the Medjai.

A servant poured wine into Pharoh’s glass, all Nenet could think of watching the deep red liquid flow in gentle waves into the cup was blood. Visions of blood filled her eyes, waves of it as grand and terrifying as the ocean. Flooding up around her as the Nile. The walls of the room began to crumble around her, leaving in it’s wake the vast desert. Mile high dunes as far as the eye could see, deep storm clouds rumbling up overhead. Nenet saw over Pharaoh’s shoulder a door, not connected to walls or a building, standing lone at the top of the dune their table rested on. As she looked on every person around the table became wrapped in linen, tight, so very tight. They gasped for air as cloth was sucked into their covered mouths and slowly, grain by grain, they dissolved into nothingness. Taken away by the wind as sand from the dunes around them. The wind lifted Nenet and she felt her body leave her chair. Lightening cracked but instead of the roll of thunder to follow she was overcome by a deep moan, a choking death driven sound. It surrounded her and vined its way into every crevice of her. She watched as the door silently, slowly opened, exposing a crack of the deepest nothingness she had ever seen, darker than the darkest night with no moon or stars. A gripping clenched around her lungs and she could no longer breath. Nenet tried to fill her lungs but the grip just increased, whatever this force it was going to crush her lungs, kill her. Suddenly the force pulled, straight down and Nenet felt it. The tubes and membranes that hold the body together ripping apart inside her. The force was taking her lungs, her heart, her soul. Faster she plunged back to the earth and an in human cry of despair sounded louder and louder in her ears. The sound of someone’s soul truly breaking. Louder and louder it cried until she collided back with her chair and the noise went quiet. Nenet took a breath, felt the wood solid under her, and opened her eyes.

Everything was normal.

Across from her Upton was reclined back in his chair as a servant poured his wine and Anuck-su-namun giggled next to him at something Pharaoh had said. Everyone was there and alright. Not mummified and blown to dust by the winds of time. Unwillingly her eyes flicked to Imhotep. He was the only one here that had the same sorts of visions, who would understand, if he had seen anything at all. He gave no inclination that he had seen what she had nor any sort of vision. But as he looked at her over his wine cup something in her face must have clicked with him. His brow furrowed. Despite their feelings towards each other and perhaps it was still her frantic state inside that dared her to think it. He looked concerned.

“How about our wonderful Medjai take a step outside?” Pharaoh’s voice snapped Nenet’s eyes from Imhotep’s. He talked to the Medjai commander behind him and the man bowed his head in acceptance. “A talk amongst yourselves must come as a welcome treat and I dare say that we will be safe enough with you outside as much as in.”

Pharaoh for all accounts was giving the Medjai a treat. A break. But all Nenet could think of was that warming anchor of energy that was Ammon was going to go far away from her. As they marched outside Nenet tried to calm her heart, to remind herself that she had made it through plenty stressful times without Ammon there, and damn it she could do it again. She took a sip of wine. It was sitting on pins and needles for the lunch to be over as Nenet nibbled on bits of food as everyone else leisurely, far too slowly to even be leisurely in Nenet’s opinion ( _this was some sort of intentional torture_ ), munched their way through three courses of mutton and figs, grilled hen and roasted veggies, honeyed nuts and dates, no to mention all the sides that Nenet couldn’t register as anything but lumps of stuff at the moment.

It wasn’t until Pharaoh had eaten his last bites and was leaning back to sip his wine that he turned to Nenet, “We must arrange for you to travel to the Sphinx my dear Nenet.” The after-meal chatter died down as everyone looked at her. “There are ceremonies to perform to secure your right as Keeper of the Sphinx.”

“Ceremonies Pharaoh?” Nenet managed to choke out.

“Indeed, from what I understand the priests of the Sphinx are gearing up and quite anxious to get started. They have heard many tales of your talents and are pleased that you come from Cairo originally.”

“Well of course they are anxious to meet such a powerful priestess as our Nenet,” Nefertiti chimed in. Gleaming at Nenet and giving her hand a quick squeeze. “And I do love Cairo. Always something going on. When will we be going father?”

“You,” Pharaoh replied pointing to Nefertiti. “Will not be going anywhere. Nor will I. Nenet will be sailing down river in two days’ time with Upton on his journey back home to work on some business before the binding ceremony of I and Anuck-su-namun.” At those words he gave the back of her hand a small kiss and she gave a girly giggle back. Something in it left a twinge with Nenet. Everything Anuck-su-namun did seemed like an act, a show.

“Now why can I not go? Who will look after Nenet if I am not there?” Nefertiti argued back.

“Ammon will as is his job as her Medjai. Imhotep is not even going. It will be a small party trip for there is no need to launch a major royal caravan for what will only be a two-week trip maximum length.”

“I am not going Pharaoh?” Imhotep interjected. “Would it not be prudent to have both the High Priestess _and_ the High Priest present at such ceremonies?”

“Not necessary Imhotep, this is about Nenet bonding with the ceremonial spaces. There will be ceremonies there for the both of you later however, your concern and support for your counterpart is lovely.”

Nenet met Imhotep’s eyes. It was not support he wanted to offer, she was sure, but rather sabotage. Nenet, though, let out a small breath of relief that she didn’t know she had been holding in. At least Ammon would be permitted to join her. _Of course, he would, he’s your bodyguard. When did you get so anxious and twitchy about not having him around?_

“Two days Pharaoh, does not seem like a long time to prepare.” Nenet said.

“There will not be much to prepare on our end, you need only show up to the temples in Cairo truly. The preparations lie with the priests there.

-

“What did you see?”

Nenet unbent from her bow and watched the retreating forms of the royal family walk back out into the bright sun. Leaving only her and Imhotep in the foyer onto the dining hall.

“What are you talking about?” Nenet tried to play it off and turned to follow the group. She needed to get to her seeing waters and find a meaning behind the ghastly visions she had experienced.

An iron clasp gripped her upper arm just beneath her arm band, pinching her awfully, and spun her back around to face Imhotep. He squeezed her arm tighter and gave her a little shake. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. I saw your face. You had a vision back in the hall before lunch. What did you see?”

“I saw nothing.” She snarled up at him. Trying to tug her arm from his grasp. “Now let me go.”

“You low life little pauper, I wi-”

“Priestess, shall we return to the temple.”

Imhotep and Nenet both spun to see the bulky frame of Ammon filling the doorway to the courtyard. The sunlight gleamed around him casting his features into darkness as no light was able to reach around him. Though Nenet could not see his face she could hear the gentle threats weaving into his words. Apparently so could Imhotep.

He all but threw her away from him as he straightened himself up into a posh and regal posture. “Take your Priestess, Medjai.” He walked slowly up to Ammon. They stood, side by side, staring each other down. Until finally Ammon took a small step to the side, creating just enough space for Imhotep to walk out. Instead Imhotep took one step closer and whispered. “But do remember your place. Your branch is lower than others and I wouldn’t shake that tree, were I you.” He looked over his shoulder back at Nenet, still standing where he’d pushed her, rubbing her arm where his hold had been. “Anymore then you already have I suppose.”

Imhotep marched out into the sun. Stillness filled the foyer in the wake of his words. Nenet felt her stomach drop into nausea, deeply regretting the small bites she’d had that now roiled around inside her threatening to up end themselves back out into the word. Slowly and quietly Ammon made his way over to her. The tips of his fingers gently caressed down the arm Imhotep had clasped. “How are you?” His deep voice soft and tender, making Nenet want to curl into his chest. To place her face right into the crook of his neck and never surface again.

“He knows.”

“It would appear so.”

His tone was too calm. Nenet looked up at him brow furrowed. “Aren’t you worried? What if he says something?”

“I don’t think he’d dare.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well as he says my branch rests lower than others and those amongst the lower branches do see a lot more than those on higher branches think”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing for now, that I can prove anyway. But more importantly,” Ammon placed a hand on her lower back and rubbed tiny circles. “You did see something, what was it?”

All the dread that had invaded Nenet at those visions came flooding back. In that moment she knew, knew what the visions meant and what the future held. She looked up into Ammon’s eyes, “I saw Death.”


	17. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I got stuck at home for a few days waiting COVID results and got this written so I figured I'd post it in an attempt to go with the whole "massive story edit at the end thing" I talked about last chapters :)
> 
> I really appreciate the love in the comments, it' really the best writing encouragement to know that people want to know how the story is going to go. The end of the first Mummy movie isn't going to be the end of this story just Part 1 there are going to be at least 2 other parts after this one which is why Ardeth and Nevi are such a slow burn. It's not all just going to rush together weirdly in the next few chapters. No worries.
> 
> (There might be 3 other parts but I can't decide if I want to try to rewrite the third movie with the Dragon King and stuff)

Nevi couldn’t help it. Her eyes just kept creeping back to him.

They had dead ended at a collapsed passage. Rick and Ardeth refused to let her help move rocks due to her recent penchant for falling from significant heights onto hard surfaces. Rick was dead convinced that she was internally injured and didn’t want her doing much of anything until a doctor checked her over. So, it was deemed her job to keep watch and alert them if anything came down the corridor to their backs as they shifted the massive rocks that blocked the groups path. Johnathan volunteered to hold the torch for them when an assembly line system was suggested.

And Nevi was trying, she really was, to keep her eyes down the corridor. Unfortunately, she had found that if she stood just so, she could keep the hall in her peripheral vision enough to notice any movement while really watching the strain and curve of Ardeth’s biceps under his robes. Every time he moved a stone his bicep would bulge under the black fabric to the point that she was convinced it would tear, his back muscles would contract making his wide shoulders look even bigger, and his fingers. Holy Heavens his fingers. It was easy to see by how he gripped the rocks just how strong he was. You’d never know by looking at his face though that he was doing any sort of strenuous activity… Nevi wanted to watch him chop wood.

They were making solid progress. This fact contented Nevi enough to relax and enjoy her personal little show. Johnathan however had other ideas.

“Come on lads, put your backs into it.” He leaned into his lower back like he strained it through hard labor. “Take from the top, take from the top. Don’t take from the bottom or the whole thing’ll come down on us.”

That was enough. Rick and Ardeth both dropped the stones they held and shared a look. The look seemed to decide something. By the glare of irritation, they sent Johnathan, it was clear to Nevi, homicide was being seriously considered.

“Johnathan, remember back in primary? Do not intentionally irritate those larger than you?”

Johnathan gave a weak laugh and backed away a bit from the other men. “Yes, well, you’ve got the idea. Ca-carry on.”

Nevi walked over and pushed him towards the entrance of the passage she had been watching, “How about we trade. You watch the entrance. I’ll hold a torch for them. Hm?”

She offered Rick and Ardeth a shrug in recompense. They shared another look but went back to shifting the rocks.

Nevi once again contented herself with the view.

Behind her she could hear Johnathan shuffling around in the sand. Probably watching the corridor less than she had. Nevi heard a scrapping of stone and a soft “Well hello there.”

“Johnathan stop muckin’ about and watch the door.”

“I say! Nevi, gents, come have a look at this!” Johnathan’s excited whisper cut off before Nevi could process to respond. 

Johnathan let out a blood curdling scream.

Nevi whipped around; the torch fell to the ground as she ran over to her brother. It’s flame licking against the legs of her trousers. Against Rick’s and Ardeth’s boots.

Johnathan was screaming, pushing against the flesh of his arm like something was crawling up it.

“What?! What is it?” Nevi shouted frantically. She grabbed his hand, searching. No scorpions. No ants. No spider. “Johnathan!” Nevi shook his arm but he just screamed.

Louder and louder. Pushing higher and higher on his arm. Whatever he could see crawling up his arm was closing in on his neck, his face.

“What’s on him?” Rick asked as Nevi ran her hand up and down his arm again.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” She heard the panic rising in her own voice as Johnathan pushed hard against his bicep and shrieked.

Rick gripped the cuff of Johnathan’s sleeve and gave it a decisive yank, tearing it along the seam. There hidden by the fabric was the cause. Nothing was on Johnathan. There was something _in_ him. At the top of his bicep darted a bump the size of a golf ball. Johnathan started to hyperventilate, his grip on Nevi’s hand iron.

“Hold him.”

Rick’s simple orders were followed immediately. Ardeth closed his arm across Johnathan’s chest, holding him tight. Nevi gripped his hand with both of hers and held his arm out straight. Johnathan couldn’t budge if he’d wanted to.

The flash of a butterfly knife, a loud shriek from Johnathan, and a thin stream of blood running down his shoulder and it was done. Rick cut the thing out quick as lightening.

The quiet thud as it landed on the sand revealed a beetle, black as coal and shiny as honey. As soon as it hit the cursed thing started scurrying back towards Johnathan. Instinctively Nevi shoved Johnathan behind her, ready to stomp the insect before it could get on her brother again. She could feel his gasps for air as he tried to right himself. A rod of tensed muscles just behind her shoulders told her that Ardeth was till gripping Johnathan. In comfort or in readiness to fling him out of the way if necessary, she decided not to guess.

BANG!

The shot hit true from Rick’s revolver. Sending a deafening echo through out the chamber. And likely throughout the complex.

The group waited a beat. The sand plum cleared; it was dead.

“Someone definitely heard that.” Nevi said into the reverberating boom of the shot. Rick continued to look at the carcass of the beetle. It took Nevi yelling for him to look over. “Rick! Someone must have heard that.”

“You are correct.” Ardeth released Johnathan and set him in Nevi’s arms. “Tend his wounds.” He turned to Rick and nodded towards the almost large enough hole they had made in the collapsed stones. “We must move these. Quickly.”

Rick nodded, seeming to come back to himself. Nevi in turn sat Johnathan down and examined the wound.

“Are you alright?”

“It was eating me Nevi.” He sounded horrified. “I could feel it. Biting at me, under my skin.”

She bent her head against his. “Hey, it’s gone now. You’re safe and uneaten.”

“Good God. Hassan. Those are what got the warden aren’t they?”

“Probably.” Nevi said as matter-of-factly as possible. It was horrible to think about. But they needed to refocus. To bring it back to the task at hand. Get Evie. They’ll deal with the trauma this ought to bring once safe at home in Cairo. “I guess we’ll be extra grateful then that Rick thought quickly and it wasn’t able to get to your brain.”

Johnathan blanched at her words but remained silent. She tore the sleeve the rest or the way off his shirt and wiped the wound as gently as she could. The cut wasn’t deep but it was long. With any luck it would scab over quickly. With as much blood and sand cleaned from it as she could Nevi looked for a bandage. In her pockets she found a hankie and bound it quickly around his wound.

“That’ll have to do for now. Try not to roll around in anything too nasty down here.”

“Yea sure, while we’re fighting undead gross mummies don’t go rubbing it in anything questionable.” Rick’s words dripped with sarcasm. “You,” he pointed to Johnathan as flung his gunny-sack through the now wide enough hole. “Don’t touch anything. Not a damn thing. Keep your hands off the furniture, got it?” Johnathan nodded vigorously.

Rick shimmied his way though the crevice in the wall and dropped to the other side.

Ardeth handed through one of the torches and waited a beat. “What do you see?”

“Not much of anything. I think it’s just a big chamber ahead. Low ceiling Ardeth. Come on through.”

Johnathan went first. He seemingly lost his balance at the last minute and gave a small yelp as he fell through.

“Johnathan!” Nevi bent into the crevice slightly. Only seeing in the dark, a vague shape of Johnathan unscrambling himself from the floor and a glow a few feet away of Rick’s face in the torch light.

He grimaced, “Yea sorry, it’s a bit of a drop.”

“You don’t bloody say.” Johnathan grumbled moving to the side for Nevi to come through.

She shook her head, muttering “Ridiculous.” As she clambered through the hole. Taking the torch from Ardeth and passing it to Johnathan once her feet hit stone. Ardeth grunted slightly as he tried to get the machine gun through the gap.

“Here, give it to me.” Nevi held her hands out for the large weapon.

She could barely see Ardeth’s face in the dim torchlight through the hole. He hesitated, “Can you hold it.”

“Might not be able to shoot the thing but I’m sure I can hold onto it for a spell.” Nevi replied.

He held the gun out through the hole and she grabbed onto it. “Ready?” He asked and she nodded securing her grip on the metal.

The full weight hit her as he let go and she almost staggered under it. Managing to hold steady as he climbed through the hole. “Bloody hell, how were you able to hold this thing out with one hand?”

He shrugged as he straightened as best he could in the small chamber. His head still bent like Rick’s. While Johnathan and Nevi were able to just barely skirt under the ceiling. Ardeth took it back from her. As the weight of it left her grasp, she was struck, and fully appreciated, just how strong he was. And not fully in a “what a hunk” sort of way. That dense metal was solid as a rock and Nevi was thankful that he, as a strong warrior, was on their side against this almost totally unknown threat.

“And thank you.”

He furrowed his brows a bit in the weak light. “What for?”

They started to follow after Rick and Johnathan into the dark. “For thinking of Evie in all this. I know it’s your job… or calling, whatever you’d call it, to protect the world from threats like the mummy. But thank you for taking her well being into account. Especially considering that she- we let it loose in the first place.”

“Of course.” She was sure, despite the dark, they were looking each other in the eye. “Despite setting the creature free, you and your family stayed to return it to the grave. For this I thank you.”

She could feel his eyes. Those deep amber pools of comforting warmth gazing down at her. Her heart fluttered. Of all blasted things! Internally she rolled her eyes and sneered at herself for being so foolish in a time like this. But damned for all the Gods, it fluttered.

“Nevi.”

Johnathan’s voice registered in her mind but didn’t cut through the static in her brain as she and Ardeth continued to unseeingly stare at each other through the dark.

“Nevi!”

“What?” she snapped at him, straightening up as they reached a higher ceilinged part of the chamber.

Fingers gripped her cheeks, squishing them so her mouth made a ridiculous O shape. Her face was forced down and to the left. “Look,” he said in a hushed voice.

In the fire light of Johnathan’s torch, she could see the gleam of gold. It looked to be a gold in laid chest with spots of a darker shiny substance. Amethyst or Lapis Lazuli. Behind it, other shapes threatened to gleam with gold in the darkness.

The noise of Rick pulling out his gun, again, barely registered with Nevi as she stared at the artifact. A smile slowly forming on her face as she noticed the fine details that would better date the object.

The noise of a bullet being shot through the air definitely registered with Nevi however. She looked up into the dark chamber and saw a far-off gleam before she was blinded by a sudden, harsh light that filled the space.

Her eyes adjusted fast and before her laid a glorious sight.

The deep chamber was filled to the brim with treasure. Her jaw hit the floor. Gold, amethyst, lapis, ruby, all shone at her from their homes in some of the most well-preserved ancient relics she’d ever seen.

The group walked deeper into the chamber, awestruck at the sight before them.

“Do you see all the-?”, Johnathan started to ask.

“Yep”. Rick replied.

“Can you believe-?”

“Nope.”

“Can we just-?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“That cartouche up there,” Nevi pointed, finding herself talking mostly to Ardeth as Johnathan and Rick continued to bicker. “It’s from the first dynasty.”

“Indeed. This is a room older than time.”

“Hamunaptra. Where Egypt’s earliest Pharaohs were said to hide the wealth of Egypt.” Nevi whispered to herself. “There, up there.” She spotted a particularly intricate gold carved statue. “That’s surely Narmer. The very first Pharaoh. We haven’t found any images of him, just legends in the records, but that’s just what he’s meant to look like.” It was as if a force pulled Nevi towards the statue balanced between a chest of gold coins and a vase detailed with silver and lapis.

“Wait,” Ardeth held her upper arm. Pulling her behind the line of men now facing back the direction they came from. “Listen.”

A rumbling came from the ground they had just walked over. The sand shifted and churned. From it a decayed imitation of a hand popped from the earth and began to claw its way out of oblivion. Next to it another set of hands joined the struggle. Soon two mummified corpses were standing before the group. Nevi could barely see them between Rick’s and Ardeth’s shoulders.

“What the hell are those guys?” Rick asked in disgust. A musty and unclean smell hitting Nevi’s nostrils making her flinch back from the forms limping towards them.

“Priests.” Ardeth answered, swinging his machine gun down and into a shooting position. “Imhotep’s priests.”

“Well, ok then.” Nevi caught the gunny-sack Rick swung back at her. Before starting to fire at the mummies. Ardeth soon joining him and to Nevi’s, and apparently Rick’s, surprise Johnathan as well. He grabbed the pistols out of Rick’s chest holster and began blasting away at the dead priests.

Bullets and linen wrapped body parts went flying. Ardeth with the rapid fire of the machine gun cut one of the mummies quickly into many parts. A hand still scratching towards the group. Rick managed to hit one square in the chest, knocking its torso clean off. But a pair of legs attached together at the hip bones still labored towards them. Apparently unhindered by the loss of its other body half. Which flipped over and began scuttling towards them like a mutated crab. Making an ungodly groaning howl as it went.

“Oh come on, gimme a break here.” Rick huffed, backing up along with the other two as more sets of hands forced their way from the earth.

Nevi felt something grab onto her ankle and let out a small yelp before she could help it, looking down at the sight of a grotesque mummified hand sticking out of the sand and gripping her leg. She twirled around and stomped at it with her free foot. Gripping to Rick’s bag for dear life. It finally released and Nevi hurried away from the spot. Only to see many hands popping out of the sand like monstrous flowers flipping around in a violent wind. Searching for the traction to pull themselves from their resting places.

“Gents,” Nevi called out to her companions, who were once again firing at the undead. Making more bits and pieces to claw towards them. “I suggest we haul-ass now.”

“Agreed.” Rick took off, grabbing his bag from Nevi, and pushing her towards a passage way at the other end of the chamber. She followed. Ardeth and Johnathan close on their heels. The whole and bits of priests close on theirs.

Nevi followed Rick around corner after corner. It seemed each time she glanced behind them more mummies were on their tail. Pushing their way out of the ground or bursting out of the walls.

“This whole damn place is alive!” Rick bellowed over the gunfire.

“How did he have this many priests?” Nevi shouted running down a passage, taking a left and quickly back tracking as mummies lumbered their way down the passage towards them. “Back up, back up. They’re down here too. Go right!”

The men backed up behind her, she grabbed Johnathan’s hand. Rick’s guns long since out of ammo and tossed to the side. Pulling him with her down the passage way. It dead-end in a T.

“Come on.” Johnathan tried to go right but Nevi stopped.

“No left.” She whispered into the chaos.

“What?”

“Left!” Nevi shouted pulling Johnathan with her. The sand under her feet unsteady. “Left, left, we should go left.”

“I am out!” she heard Ardeth yell behind her. A loud thud and clank of metal on stone following his words.

Around another corner. The group burst into a small chamber. The feet of a large golden statue tilted in the sand met them. Falcons adorning the sides of his base.

“There he is!” Johnathan shouted and ran to the base of the statue. Digging into the loose sand as best he could. “Hello Horus old boy.”

“Nevina, when this is over, you’re going to explain to me how you seem to know where you’re going.” Rick said. Turning in the chamber’s doorway to fire down the passage with Ardeth next to him.

“Richard when I figure that out, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Nevi replied. Scrapping away from the base with Johnathan.

Behind them Nevi can hear Rick scrambling around in his gunny-sack. The sound of Ardeth slicing away at the pigeon-holed mummies in the doorway. Silence, save for the ungodly moans of the mummies, then-

“Fire in the hole!”

Rick grabbed Johnathan and pulled him behind a stone structure next to them.

Ardeth grabbed Nevi and pulled her behind the statue of Horus curling around her with his large frame as- BOOM! An explosion rocked the small space. Nevi flinched into Ardeth. His smell of musk and sandalwood and desert air filling her lungs as the scent of spent gunpowder invaded close behind it. Her ears rang and smoke obscured any vision she had.

As the room cleared and the ringing stopped. Nevi peaked her head out from the crook between Ardeth and the statue base. To her mild displeasure Ardeth fully unwound himself from her. Straightening she saw Johnathan and Rick doing the same.

The passage they had entered from was caved in. Massive stones filling the cavity and blocking out the mummies that could still be heard on the other side. Chard body parts lay around but none moving. Now their only exit was a passage on the other side of the small chamber. Equally dark, equally uninviting, and equally likely to have the undead down it as the one they just imploded.

Nevi turned to Johnathan. “Dig.”

\--

The goings were slower than Nevi would have liked. Seams started to show however and without fail the square of a compartment opening began to form.

Nevi and Johnathan scrapped and dug at the indents. The stone front slowly starting to give. In front of them, around the statue, Rick and Ardeth watched the dark passage that was now their only hope of escape back into the complex.

She heard the moans before she saw anything.

“Son of a bitch.” Rick said, looking down into the dark. Searching for the first signs of mummy. “These guys just don’t quit.”

“Keep digging.” Ardeth hollered back at them.

“We need a big knife or something. Leverage of some kind to pry this out,”

Rick flipped out a bowie knife. He shared a look with Ardeth, the two deciding something between them.

Ardeth grabbed the shot gun from Rick and pulled the extra shot shells from his belt. “Go.” He turned back to the opening.

Rick slide in next to Nevi and slammed the blade of his bowie knife into the crack of an opening she and Johnathan had managed. He shimmied it back and forth wedging it farther into the base of the statue. The compartment door began to give quicker.

“Careful, lean away when it opens.” Nevi warned. When Rick shot her a confused and border line pissed look, she elaborated. “Salt acid remember. Pressurized salt acid.”

His look cleared and he leaned as far from the door as he could while continuing to gouge at it.

Nevi heard a group of mummies stumbling to them down the passage.

“Get ready.” Ardeth lifted his gun at the ready. Rick fought harder with the compartment.

Ardeth fired at a mummy. It stumbled back and three more took its place. He shot at one and hit it but when he went to reload the other two stumbled past him. He swung the rifle butt at the closest one and it stumbled into the stone wall falling to the side. By the time the gun was loaded another mummy plus the original one were upon him again. Leaving Nevi to deal with the two that got past into the chamber as Rick and Johnathan pulled at the statue base.

Nevi sung out at the approaching mummy with the biggest rock she could lift from the cave in. She hit it- WHACK right in the shoulder. It fell sideways and before it could rise again, she smashed the rock into its head. Again. Again. Finally, the body was still. Nevi turned at the sound of Rick’s curse. The second mummy had knocked him and Johnathan to the side and was pulling at the compartment door.

“We can’t let them bring the book to Imhotep.” Ardeth yelled back at them, firing at a mummy.

The corpse pulled with a strength it shouldn’t have had at the stone and with a squelch. It came loose. A steaming hiss of salt acid sprayed out at it. The gaseous mist searing and melting its flesh on contact. It gave off a high-pitched twisted scream and melted into goo on the sand floor.

“Won’t be a problem.” Rick shouted back at him. “Good call about the acid.” He said to Nevi as they heaved an ornate wooden box out of the base of Horus. He ripped the lid off unceremoniously.

Nevi reached in heaving a heavy burlap bag from the depths. Rick and Johnathan shared a confused look but Nevi pulled the burlap down, there a shiny gold surface greeted her.

“Did you find it?” Ardeth shouted from the doorway.

“Yes.” Nevi called back. “We have it.” Her, Rick, and Johnathan share excited looks. The gold reflecting off their faces in the torch light. Springing to their feet they rushed around the statue to Ardeth. There a ghastly parade of mummies marched towards them. Ardeth fired out a shot. Hitting one more corpse and bringing it to its knees.

The gun clicked. No more ammo.

Ardeth flipped the gun around and hit the fallen mummy with the rifle butt. It fell to the ground, unmoving. “That is good.” He unsheathed his scimitar. “Now, save your Evie. Kill the creature!” He ran at the mummies and took the front two down with his scimitar before bowling over the next few. In the center of the hoard he sliced down two more. Turning back to the group yelling, “Rick, go!”

Something in Rick snapped. The solider was back on his face. He gave a curt nod and grabbed Nevi and Johnathan, dragging them back around the statue, towards cover.

“We- we can’t leave hi-him.” Nevi stuttered. “We can’t just leave him!” She turned on Rick. Clutching the book for dear life.

“We don’t have a choice.” Rick’s voice was firm and unyielding, leaving no room to question his call. But as Nevi looked into his face she saw behind his eyes. He didn’t like this anymore then she did. “Get behind cover.”

She sank behind the stone that Rick and Johnathan had hidden behind earlier. Her last glance of Ardeth before Rick’s dynamite exploded was the Medjai being dragged down into a sea of undead.

The explosion filled the small space once again with a plume of smoke. Once again, her ears ringing. She waited to rise from their prone hiding spot until Rick raised his hand from in front of her. “Go, go let’s go.”

Johnathan was up and gone through the newly formed door without a second’s hesitation. Nevi couldn’t help but stare at the second caved in passage entrance. This one with a Medjai warrior behind it. Dead or worse, alone against a hoard of undead trying to kill him. They had done this to him. She strained her ears to hear anything beyond the crumbling stone. Any signs of life. The grunting of a fight, the scream of wielding a sword against an enemy.

There was nothing.

“He’ll be fine.” Rick said hustling her along through the blown-out hole in the wall.

“I hope so.” Nevi said with barely enough volume to have the words leave her mouth, before stepping through into a new passage and loosing sight of the last place she saw Ardeth Bay.


End file.
